


Loving You with Hands Tied

by Slynnski



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - College/University, Biting, Blood, Blood As Lube, Blood Kink, Blood and Violence, Bloodlust, College, Control Issues, Domestic Violence, Dominance, Drinking, Drinking Games, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Language, F/M, Foreplay, M/M, Mild Smut, Modern AU, Multiple Orgasms, Oral Sex, Orgasm, Physical Abuse, Rough Sex, Scratching, Smut, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2018-12-14 15:06:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11785701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slynnski/pseuds/Slynnski
Summary: Lucy Stark sets out for college with her cousin and best friend, Sansa Tully. At a party commemorating her father's business merging with another, she meets the mysterious but gorgeous Ramsay Bolton. Her loved ones tell her to stay away from him, that he is bad news. But Lucy does not. A whirlwind of betrayal, violence and angst ensues as Lucy is constantly pitted between her family and her lover.





	1. A Fire

**Author's Note:**

> All of the Stark children are included in this work, however I have made a few changes for the purpose of this story. Ned and Catelyn Stark are the parents of Jon Snow, Robb Stark, Lucy Stark, and Rickon Stark. Edmure and Roslyn Tully are the parents of Sansa Tully, Arya Tully, and Bran Tully. I hope this clears up any possible confusion.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy and Sansa have one last bonfire together in anticipation of moving to college tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We're happy free confused and lonely in the best way. It's miserable and magical, oh yeah"

Her hands delicately wove flaming tendrils in a braid pattern while the embers of the fire warmed her face on a cool night in August. A small smile traced itself on Lucy Stark's face as a familiar song made its way through her mind while she continued to style her cousin's hair.

"Mmmm that feels nice," Sansa Tully sighed as silky strands of her red hair were expertly but gently pulled and tugged by Lucy.

Lucy sighed for a different reason entirely. "I'm jealous," she said wistfully.

"Why?" Sansa's voice sounded skeptical.

Sansa could almost hear her cousin's eyes roll as she answered, "You know why. I so wish I had red hair like you do." **  
**

"And stand out everywhere you go? No thanks. I'd rather have yours," Sansa countered.

"Brown hair is boring," Lucy pouted. **  
**

The two girls had this conversation at least once a month; nothing ever changed. They never seemed to grow tired of it, either. Lucy and Sansa were not just cousins; they were also best friends. At the same age of 18, they often spent Spring, Summer, and Fall evenings at the fire pit down by the river in the sprawling backyard of the Tully family's house. This night, a Friday night at the end of August, was no different. Sansa and Lucy would talk about anything and everything, often while listening to their favorite music, while the flames grew brighter and the moon climbed higher in the sky. Usually their fire nights were uninterrupted, just the two of them. However, their current conversation died off as they saw a shorter figure with a lit up cell phone and burning cigarette make their way down the yard in the dark towards them. **  
**

"Hey," Arya Tully said as she sat down across from Lucy and Sansa, not looking up from her phone screen. **  
**

"Arya, what are you doing here? Why aren't you out with your stupid friends like you normally are?" Sansa asked rather angrily. She didn't often get along with her younger sister. **  
**

Arya took a drag from her cigarette before answering. "Well I would be, but I can't tonight because of you," she said in an accusatory tone. **  
**

"What's that supposed to man?" Sansa shot back. **  
**

A disgruntled look clouded Arya's face. "Mom and Dad won't let me go out tonight because they need me up early tomorrow morning to help  _you_ move," she said. **  
**

"Like that's _my_ fault," said Sansa sarcastically. "Do Mom and Dad know you have that?" Sansa nodded at the cigarette in Arya's left hand. **  
**

Arya shrugged. "I don't much care what they think right now," she said cooly. She took another drag, then said, her tone now friendly, "What's up, Luce? You excited?"

Lucy thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think I am! It'll be nice to be out on my own for once, and I do miss being around Robb and Jon all the time. I will miss Rickon a lot, though," she added glumly, indicating her three brothers.

"Ehh, you'll see him enough, though. And you can always text and call him and stuff," Arya suggested.

"Yeah, you're right," Lucy smiled.

"Well I won't miss you or Bran at all!" Sansa interjected, wrinkling her nose.

"This conversation did not include you, Sansa," Arya argued.

"Oh just shut up and go somewhere else, _please_." Sansa's voice was filled with venom.

"Fine." Arya flicked her cigarette butt into the flames and abruptly stood up and walked away.

"Jesus, I thought she'd never leave," Sansa grumbled. Lucy remained silent. Sansa was her best friend, but she loved her other cousins too, Arya included. She wished Sansa would try a little better to get along with Arya, but she was done trying to encourage her to. **  
**

Her French braids finished, Sansa was ready to settle back into a normal conversation with Lucy, but the peace was short-lived. Two guys, not much older than Lucy and Sansa, came bounding through the yard toward them. This time, it was Lucy who groaned, however in a somewhat good-natured way. **  
**

"Time to go, sis!" Robb exclaimed. **  
**

"What? But it's only 10:00 o'clock!" Lucy protested. **  
**

"Too bad," said Jon. "We've got an early start tomorrow, remember?"

"Fine, whatever," Lucy agreed grudgingly. She and Sansa slowly stood up and worked to carefully put the fire out until only smoke and ashes remained. Afterwards, the two girls embraced tightly.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Sansa said breathlessly, her eyes dancing with excitement.

"Damn right you will!" Lucy said happily. They smiled fondly at each other before she, Robb, and Jon turned away and started making their way toward Robb's car parked at the end of the Tully's driveway.


	2. Moving In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy, Sansa, Robb and Jon move into their college apartment and prepare themselves for a fun year ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When we first dropped our bags on apartment floors  
> Took our broken hearts, put them in a drawer  
> Everybody here was someone else before  
> And you can want who you want  
> Boys and boys and girls and girls

The next morning, the alarm shattered Lucy’s subconscious like a mirror colliding with concrete. She groaned unhappily and pulled her blankets up over her head to drown out the piercing beeps. As soon as Lucy made a move to hit snooze, her phone went off:

> **Robb** : Don't you dare hit that snooze button
> 
> **Robb** : I know you want to

"Dammit," Lucy sighed. She reluctantly pushed the bed covers off of her, sat up, and silenced her alarm clock. Still sitting on the edge of her bed, she stared around her room in a sleepy haze. On the floor surrounding her were a plethora of boxes and duffel bags. A sudden jolt of excitement woke her up completely. _I can't believe today is finally here,_ she thought. After standing up and moving across the room to flick on the light switch, Lucy quickly dressed herself in comfortable clothes: black stretchy cloth shorts, a ribbed cotton pink tank top with socks and a pair of athletic sneakers she hardly wore, but which were good for days full of physical activities such as this one: moving. Finally, she threw her hair up into a ponytail without bothering to brush it and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Upon entering the kitchen, Lucy found her brothers Robb and Rickon sitting at the large island in the center of the kitchen already scarfing down cereal, her parents Ned and Catelyn Stark sitting in the breakfast nook across the room having cups of coffee. Lucy ruffled Rickon’s mop of shaggy, sandy-colored curls as she made her way to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of orange juice.

“Stop it,” Rickon whined angrily.

After taking a generous sip of her orange juice, Lucy chuckled. “Oh come on, you know you’ll miss me.”

Rickon made an exasperated ‘humph’ noise but did not look up from his cereal. Ned chuckled while Cat smiled at her three children lovingly.

After making herself some frozen waffles and settling herself at the island between Robb and Rickon, Lucy’s third brother, Jon, entered the kitchen, his black curls dripping water from being in the shower. In reality, Jon Snow was not her brother; he was actually her cousin. His parents (Ned’s sister Lyanna and her husband) had died when he was at a young age. The Starks had become his legal guardians as a result and he had been living with them ever since. Lucy did not remember her aunt and uncle’s accident; she was only a toddler when Jon had come to live with the Starks. Therefore, she considered Jon her brother regardless of the technicalities involved.

Jon grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl in the center of the island and leaned against the end of the kitchen counter as he peeled it and began to eat. After waving to her third brother, Lucy grabbed her phone and texted Sansa:

> **Lucy:** Hey. You awake?
> 
> **Sansa:** Yes
> 
> **Sansa:** We're all ready to start loading up the cars, but Arya is being difficult as usual
> 
> **Lucy:** Is Bran staying home then?
> 
> **Sansa:** Yep
> 
> **Lucy:** Tell him that I'll miss him, will you?
> 
> **Sansa:** Will do

Sansa’s younger brother Brandon Tully (Bran for short) had fallen from climbing a tree when he was 10 years old, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Now 15 years old, he needed a wheelchair to get around, so therefore would sadly not be much help during the moving process.

After finishing their breakfasts, the family of Starks worked together to clean up the kitchen. Then, the real work would begin: loading, unloading, unpacking, and moving in.

~

The University of Westeros was roughly a forty minute drive away from the suburban area where the Starks and Tullys lived, just on the other side of the small city of West End. University Park, the college apartment complex where Jon, Robb, and now Sansa and Lucy, lived, was less than a mile from campus. The apartment itself was modestly-sized: it contained two bedrooms and two bathrooms, one of each on either end of the apartment itself. In the middle was a large living/kitchen/dining area, with a laundry closet off to one side. Before, Jon and Robb each had their own rooms. Now, Jon and Robb would share one bedroom, while Sansa and Lucy would occupy the other. Ned and Catelyn gladly paid the rent and bills to ensure their children could focus solely on their studies without having to worry about finding a source of income. Ned was the head of his own rather large company, so money was not an object for the family whatsoever.

Also located in the apartment complex was a large community pool that was attached to its own student center which not only included valuable University resources, but also contained a small gym, study center with computers, a den with a TV and gaming console, and a rec room that featured pool tables and dart boards, along with drinks and snacks. Each apartment building contained twelve units, all with their own balconies/patios. The Starks and Sansa were in a first floor corner unit, which made moving all of their belongings in extremely easy.

What wasn’t so easy was saying goodbye. Lucy tried to hold herself together, but it was hard. It was especially difficult to say goodbye to Rickon. Lucy felt closer to Rickon than she did to either of her two older brothers. While the rest of the family convened around their respective vehicles outside of the apartment, engaged in the type of chatter that leads up to saying goodbye, Lucy pulled Rickon to the side slightly, away from everyone else. Lucy swallowed hard, willing herself not to cry. She remembered always having to look down at her brother to meet his eyes when she spoke to him; it was so hard for her to believe that now, at the age of fourteen, his eyes were almost equal to hers.

“You’re getting so tall,” Lucy said awkwardly, her cheeks flushing slightly. Talking to her little brother had always been so easy, now, in this moment, it felt like she hardly knew him.

“Yeah…” he trailed off, avoiding Lucy’s gaze.

“Look,” Lucy swallowed. “Anything you need, any time, even in the middle of the night, just--”

“I know,” Rickon intervened, sighing glumly.

“I’ll miss you, Rick,” Lucy whispered, her unshed tears threatening to spill over. Similar to a film reel, fond memories flashed through Lucy’s mind: she and Rickon getting home from school every day and doing their homework together, late night video game competitions, camping in the backyard during the summer, being able to tell Rickon almost everything, things she couldn’t even tell Sansa, and also all of the stupid, trivial fights they would have, including slamming doors, name calling, and even throwing shoes at one another. Being alone in the house with Rickon while Robb and Jon were away at college made Lucy feel younger than she really was; her worries were typically in the farthest corner of her mind when she was hanging out with him. Now, she was the one going off to college and leaving him behind.

Rickon finally looked at his sister, eyes watering slightly, and leaned into her for a quick hug. Lucy hugged him tightly and rested her cheek briefly on top of his curls, breathing in his scent.

After what felt like an eternity, but was in reality only a few seconds, the two broke apart and rejoined the rest of the family. Catelyn enveloped Lucy in her arms and stroked her hair, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“My little girl, all grown up,” she said softly, almost to herself. She pulled herself away from her daughter and formed a tight but loving grip on each of her shoulders, looking intensely into Lucy’s eyes.

“Don’t hesitate to call us or come home at any time for anything you may need,” she said firmly. “We are still your parents, no matter how far away we may be. And one more thing,” she added, “have fun.” Catelyn smiled and kissed Lucy’s forehead.

“I will,” Lucy beamed, the happiness once again alive on her face and in her eyes.

Ned walked over and squeezed Lucy’s shoulder. “Work hard,” he said, his eyes twinkling, “but play harder.” He grinned and winked while Lucy responded with a mischievous giggle.

Lucy suddenly felt a sharp tug from behind on her right arm.

“Come on, we have a room to decorate!” Sansa exclaimed impatiently.

Lucy smiled once more at both of her parents, gave a small wave, said fervent goodbyes to her aunt and uncle, and allowed herself to be led inside by her cousin. Meanwhile, Ned beckoned Robb and Jon toward him.

“Keep an eye on them,” he said seriously. “Keep them safe, and from doing anything stupid.”

Jon and Robb grinned at each other.

“Don’t worry Dad,” Robb assured him. “We will.”

Inside, Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ blasted energetically from the girls’ room as they unpacked and set things up the way they wanted them. Each girl was provided a twin bed, a small dresser, and a small desk for doing schoolwork. At the far end of the room they had access to a large walk-in closet for them to share. They positioned their beds against opposite walls in a linear fashion caddy-corner to one another facing opposite directions so they could see and talk to each other while lying in bed. Lucy had brought along a small flat-screen tv that she put on top of her dresser at the end of her bed. Atop each girl’s desk sat brand new laptops, given to them as graduation gifts from their parents. After all of the posters were hung and the clothes put away, Lucy stood back with her hands on her hips to admire their handiwork while Sansa flopped down onto her bed, her hair still in french braids from the night before, the sleeves of her tie-dyed University of Westeros sweatshirt rolled up.

“I think we did that in record time,” she commented.

Robb and Jon stuck their heads into the room to announce that they were going off to the grocery store to pick up a few things. The girls nodded in approval, and when they heard the door to the apartment shut, they looked at each other.

“Now what should we do?” Lucy wondered.

Sansa sat up on her bed. “Why don’t we go to Target and look for stuff for the apartment?” she suggested.

“Good call!” said Lucy with enthusiasm.

The girls grabbed their purses and rushed out to Sansa’s white Honda Civic that was given to her brand new when she was sixteen. The Stark and Tully parents agreed that only two cars should go off to university to save on gas and maintenance costs; the Civic for Sansa and Lucy and Jon’s black Jeep Patriot for he and Robb to share.

Sansa brought up the nearest Target store on her phone’s GPS; there was one conveniently located about a mile and a half away from University Park. They took off down the busy road, windows down, hair flying, singing loudly to ‘Hot N Cold’ by Katy Perry.

While Sansa was tempted to look at clothes and Lucy shoes, the girls forced themselves to walk past those sections and towards the home decor area in the middle of the store. Both girls had different tastes; Lucy was all about practical items like bath curtains, shower caddies, bathroom sink organizers and a white board for above her desk, while Sansa was into the more pretty, decorative items such as pictures, candles, fake plants, and throw pillows.

With their red shopping cart filled to the brim, Lucy told Sansa to head to the checkout lines while she ran to grab one more thing.

“What is it?” Sansa asked with confusion written on her face.

“You’ll see,” Lucy said slyly.

Sansa shrugged and wheeled the cart up to the front of the store and into the shortest checkout line. Just as Sansa began putting their items on the conveyer belt, Lucy appeared, slightly out of breath and clutching the last coveted item to her chest.

“What is it?” Sansa asked again.

Lucy put it down on the belt behind the rest of their things with a flourish. Sansa’s eyes widened.

“That’s such an awesome idea! I don’t know if Jon and Robb will like it very much though,” she giggled.

“I don’t really care; we live there too,” Lucy said defiantly. “They will just have to fucking deal with it,” she added with a laugh. Sansa laughed at the thought of Robb and Jon’s faces once they saw what Lucy had planned.

“It’s going to be hysterical,” Sansa said with a last chuckle.

~

When Lucy and Sansa got back to the apartment, they were surprised to find that Robb and Jon still weren’t back from the grocery store. They were glad, though; it would give them the opportunity to put their new purchases away and decorate in peace and with no objections.

An hour or so later, while the girls were adding the finishing touches above the cabinets in the kitchen area, the apartment door opened. Lucy tensed up slightly, but continued working while Sansa sat on the kitchen island and watched apprehensively.

“Oh my God,” Jon said in disbelief.

“What is it?” Robb asked as he stepped through the foyer. Then -- “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, right?”

After adding the last thumbtack, Lucy carefully stepped down from the kitchen counter and turned to face her brothers.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” she asked innocently while Sansa snorted. Jon dropped his shopping bags on the floor and sank onto the loveseat, his face in his hands.

Dropping his bags as well, Robb said, “Of course not! You’ve turned our apartment into some kind of cliche girly fairy house!”

The girls had hung strings of white Christmas lights around the top perimeter of the main room of the apartment.

Lucy folded her arms across her chest and glared at Robb. “Of course we haven’t. It was too plain in here before. Now that we’ve dressed it up a bit, you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

“‘Dressed it up’? You’ve defiled it!” Robb protested dramatically. “Guess we won’t be having any guy friends over this year,” he commented in Jon’s direction while Jon stared around the room warily.

Sansa looked toward the floor at all of the guys’ shopping bags, noticing that there was a large brown paper one in the mix.

“There’s alcohol in there,” she said knowingly, nodding at it, a slight smirk playing on her face.

Realization dawned on Lucy’s face. “Ygritte and Talisa are coming over aren’t they? Well, we’ll see what they think.” She looked at Sansa with a devilish smile.

Robb and Jon sighed and grumbled audibly, admitting defeat for the time being, as they moved to put their stuff away in an annoyed sort of fashion, slamming cabinets and shoving food into the refrigerator forcefully.

~

A few hours later when the sun had almost set, the doorbell to the apartment rang. Jon got up from watching TV and hurried over to open the door. Inside stepped Ygritte Wild and Talisa Maegyr, Jon and Robb’s girlfriends, respectively.

Ygritte wrapped her arm around Jon’s waist with possessive vigor, catching him in a kiss filled with longing and desire while grabbing a fist full of Jon’s black curls. Jon leaned into her hungrily, placing his hands gingerly on her lower hips as if cradling a diamond. Just as the tips of his fingers on his right hand brushed the skin of her lower back in an attempt to creep up underneath her shirt, she pulled away from him. Jon looked into his lover’s eyes with wonder.

“You’re back,” Ygritte whispered teasingly, giving his ass a slight squeeze before walking away and dropping her purse on the coffee table. Jon stared after her with lust.

Meanwhile, Talisa walked into the room and over to where Robb sat on the couch in front of the TV, kissing his temple endearingly before flopping down comfortably beside him and resting her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her with a sweet smile on his face.

“Hello, love,” he said as he squeezed her hand gently.

Sansa and Lucy flung open their bedroom door and rushed to the living room once they realized the other girls had arrived.

“HEYYYYY,” Sansa shouted, announcing their presence, while Lucy ran to Ygritte and tackled her with a hug. Ygritte screamed happily, hugging Lucy back, while Talisa burst out laughing.

“Welcome to college,” Talisa greeted them, still chuckling slightly.

“Thanks!” Sansa said cheerfully as she settled herself on top of the kitchen island again. Lucy detached herself from Ygritte and hopped up and down with excitement.

“So, what do you think?” she asked, gesturing towards the ceiling where the lights hung. Talisa looked up curiously while Ygritte stared around, taking it all in, her mouth open slightly in eagerness.

“I love it!” Ygritte said delightedly while Talisa nodded in fervent agreement.

“HA!” Lucy yelled in triumph, staring directly at Robb’s face. He rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, it all looks great,” he said impatiently, leaving Talisa and getting up from the couch. “But it’s time for the games to begin.” He walked over to one of the kitchen cabinets, opening it and grabbing a stack of red plastic solo cups. Sansa hopped down from the island as he began to arrange the cups in a triangular shape on either end of it.

“What? Already?” Ygritte asked incredulously, turning to look at Jon, who had already settled himself back down on the loveseat.

“It is my sworn duty to teach my little sister the ways of college life,” Robb said solemnly but with a playful look in his eyes as he pulled out a package of plastic white ping pong balls from the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink.

“Oh my God,” Lucy said, her voice full of sarcastic scorn. “You act like I’ve lived under a rock all these years.” But she walked over and stood at one end of the island anyways. Sansa moved to stand beside Lucy, forming a team. Jon got up from the loveseat once again and grabbed a few cans of cheap light beer from the fridge. He expertly began to pour an equal amount into each of the cups.

“Okay,” Robb began in a business-like tone. “Talisa, you’re going to play with Sansa and Lucy. Jon and Ygritte will join me as a team. Got it?” The group spoke various words of affirmation and Talisa walked over to join Lucy and Sansa at their end while Jon and Ygritte moved over to the opposite end of the island. Robb ran to grab a pair of speakers from his and Jon’s room. He set them on the coffee table next to Ygritte’s purse and plugged the auxiliary cord into his phone. He started up the Pandora app and upbeat party tunes filled the room, starting with ‘Right Round’ by Flo Rida.

Two hours and a few rounds later, Robb and Jon were passed out drunkenly on the couch and loveseat, while Talisa and Ygritte sat beside them, a cheesy horror movie going on Netflix. Lucy and Sansa, who were feeling a bit tipsy themselves, left the apartment for some fresh air and a walk around the complex as the stars shone above them.

Lucy linked her arm through her cousin’s and leaned into her affectionately, stumbling slightly in her alcohol-induced state. Sansa giggled and swayed slightly from her cousin’s weight on her.

“We are going to have so much fun together,” Lucy sighed contentedly.

“We will do everything together, like we always do,” Sansa agreed.

Lucy nodded sleepily, a smile on her face, continuing to walk down the sidewalk into the night with her best friend, ready to do it all again the next day, and the day after.


	3. A Setup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb and Jon throw a day-before-classes-begin bash at the apartment, and attempt to hook Lucy up with their friend, Jaime Lannister.
> 
> Jacob is actually Grey Worm. Unfortunately you don't meet a whole lot of modern young adults with this name, so I changed it to Jacob, which is the name of the actor who plays him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse me, excuse me  
> But I might drink a little more than I should, tonight  
> And I might take you home with me if I could, tonight  
> Baby I'ma make you feel so good, tonight  
> Cause we might not get tomorrow

"This is fucking ridiculous," Lucy protested as she rummaged through the closet she shared with Sansa, the pile of reject clothes continuously growing as she searched for something decent to wear.

"It is not," Sansa said, annoyed, paging through a magazine with no real interest as she lounged on her bed. "I wish Robb and Jon would do that for me."

Lucy stopped her frantic frenzy and turned to face Sansa. "You've had boyfriends before. Robb and Jon think I need help, because I've never dated," she grumbled darkly.

Sansa snorted. "Serves you right, then."

"Gee thanks," Lucy said, balling up an old wrinkly t-shirt and lobbing it at Sansa's head.

Sansa allowed the shirt to hit her, letting it sit on her head and dangle in her face like some kind of absurd hat. "What are you so afraid of?" The right sleeve of the shirt fluttered slightly as Sansa exhaled.

"I'm not afraid," Lucy mumbled defiantly, resuming the assault on her wardrobe. "I would just prefer to find my own date. Or, if I _have_ to be set up with someone, give me more than a day's notice for fuck's sake!"

Sansa removed the shirt from her head while simultaneously bursting into laughter. "Yeah, that is a little shitty of them," she admitted, indicating Robb and Jon's underhanded plan.

It was Sunday, the day after the beer pong tournament with Ygritte and Talisa, and the day before classes were set to begin. Robb and Jon decided to celebrate by having a much larger party at the apartment that night to kick off the new semester. It would be a good time for everyone involved, but the two had a special surprise for Lucy.

"We have a friend of ours coming who is very excited to meet you," Robb had said, sharing a mischievous grin with Jon. 

"What do you mean? Why?" Lucy had asked uncertainly.

"His name is Jaime Lannister," Jon had said, holding back laughter.

Awareness registered itself on Lucy's face. "No. Way," she had said, utterly mortified.

"Aww come on, sis, live a little," Robb had jokingly chastised. "He's handsome, nice, popular, and has a lot of money."

"And he is starting quarterback for the Westeros football team," Jon had added hopefully.

"If he has all that, why would he want me?" Lucy had asked skeptically.

Robb had rolled his eyes. "Because every other girl who tries to date him is shallow and just wants something from him, not cause they really like him or want to be with him."

"Plus his sister is kind of a pain in the ass," Jon had admitted, snorting. Robb then punched Jon on the arm.

"Well, I don't want to be with him either," Lucy had said stubbornly.

"Lucy," Robb had said seriously, "you don't even know him."

"You're our little sister, we wouldn't hook you up with someone awful and you know that," Jon had argued.

"Plus we already told him and he's looking forward to it, so you can't just say no. Relax, talk to him, have fun with him. If you don't like him, then fine. But, at least give him a chance, Luce," Robb had encouraged with a smile.

Lucy then sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll see what he's all about," she had finally agreed with a slight smile.

"'Atta girl," Robb had said with a wink, while Jon had given her a high-five. "Let's get this fucking show on the road!"

Now, Lucy was regretting her decision to go along with Robb and Jon's scheming as she hopelessly continued to search through her endless amount of outfits. Finally, Sansa, tired of seeing this pathetic display of her cousin's evident panic, briskly got up off of her bed and strode over to the closet where Lucy was buried in her own clothing. 

"Stop," she said firmly but gently while grabbing ahold of Lucy's wrist. Lucy looked at her cousin, her lips turned down into a little pout and her eyes full of despair. "You're making this into a much bigger problem than it really needs to be. Just pick something you feel comfortable and confident in. It's that easy."

Lucy looked slowly around at the sea of fabric surrounding her, remaining silent. Sansa sighed.

"Okay," she said while rubbing her temples, realizing that this was going to be way more difficult than she had originally imagined. "What is your absolute favorite thing to wear? C'mon Luce, even _I_ know this one."

"Plaid button-downs...." Lucy murmured, sounding slightly unsure. "But-" she spoke up in protest; Sansa cut her off.

"Ah ah ah!" she reproached sharply. "You have your answer. There's no need to over-analyze or question it any further. The key to meeting someone and dating is to relax and be yourself. Easier said than done, I know, but you're off to a good start by picking something you love to wear instead of trying to find something you think he would like to see you in. Am I making sense?"

"Yes," Lucy answered simply. "You are."

"Good! Now, let me help you pick out the right shirt," Sansa offered.

~

Nearly an hour later, the clothes were cleaned up off of the floor and Lucy was dressed with the help of her cousin: a tight-fitting green and black plaid button down shirt with a slightly revealing black camisole underneath, lightly distressed skinny jeans, and a pair of black high-top Converse sneakers. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror hanging on the door and gave a small smile. Sansa stood back and admired Lucy's figure and outfit as well. 

"Now that's the Lucy we all know and love!" she said with vigor. Lucy giggled, still a bit nervous.

Sansa had no qualms with finding an outfit. She was adorned in a loose-fitting, bat-sleeved gold shimmery sweater, tight-fitting white skinny jeans with rips at the knees, and an elegant pair of tan platform sandals, her toes painted a perfect baby pink. Her red hair was draped long and silky down her shoulders, with large golden hoops in her ears. She looked like a goddess. Lucy had always been a little envious of her cousin's looks, and now was no different. Still, she had to admit that she did indeed feel confident as well, her medium-length light brown hair down marginally below her shoulders with her bangs swept to the side. 

"So, do you know anyone else coming tonight, besides your Jaime Lannister?" Sansa asked while carefully applying mascara. 

"No, but knowing Robb and Jon, I'm sure there will be plenty of interesting people here," Lucy answered. Sansa chuckled.

"Good," she said. "I want to meet someone tonight, if you know what I mean," she concluded with a sly grin.

~

It was a good hour and a half or so into the party, and most of the guests had already showed up. But, not Jaime Lannister.

Lucy stood off to the corner of the room, eating handful after handful of cashews in an agitated fashion as she took in the scene around her. Ygritte sidled up beside her and nudged her gently in the ribs.

"Need some company?" she asked.

"Sure, thanks," Lucy replied with a grateful smile. "Do you know everyone here?"

Ygritte took a sip of her beer before answering, "yes, I think so."

Nearly everybody in the apartment were Jon, Robb, Talisa, and Ygritte's age of 21 and in their junior year at the university. Standing near the loveseat across the room were Sam and his girlfriend Gilly, friends of Jon's, and who also happened to be engaged in conversation with him. Sam was a little larger but had a friendly face, while Gilly had mousy brown hair and a shy but sweet look about her. Next were Renly and his boyfriend Loras, who were off in the opposite corner canoodling, drinks in both of their hands as they held a private conversation. Both were quite handsome, and Lucy thought to herself that Sansa was probably disappointed that they were gay and therefore off limits. Loras's sister, Margaery, was hanging out alone at the drinks and snacks table, looking positively alluring in a low-cut maxi dress with her long, wavy honey-brown hair and big, blue doe eyes. She was scanning the room with interest, her red plastic solo cup held up close to her lips. Robb and Talisa were across the room near the Bluetooth speakers, Robb looking lovingly into Talisa's eyes with his hands on her hips, grinding gently to the current song whose notes were filling the room with an infectious sound. Standing next to them, drink in hand and occasionally chatting with the couple, was a chiseled guy named Gendry who had a jovial face, short brown hair and dark blue eyes. Sitting on the couch was a small, raucous crowd of guys playing video games on the big flat-screen TV. One of them stood out more than the others; he was tall and burly with bushy red hair and beard; he looked like a mountain man. Ygritte described him as "Tormund, captain of the rugby team. No one knows his real name, everyone just calls him Tormund." Sitting beside him on the couch were his fellow rugby teammates. Numerous empty beer bottles littered the floor in front of them as they shouted and cheered at the television screen. Standing with Sansa not too far in front of Lucy and Ygritte was a taller guy with golden blonde hair and a childish face which held a flirty smirk. His name was Joffrey, and Lucy could tell that Sansa was absolutely enamored by him; she kept smiling coyly and giggling with him whenever he spoke. 

Probably the most interesting presence in the room was a girl who had the whitest-blonde hair that Lucy had ever seen; it trailed in long, soft ringlets down her back. She had an aristocratic aura to her, with a cherub-like face and large cerulean eyes. She was a foreign exchange student who had started the second semester of last school year. The majority of the students called her Dany because her full name was too difficult to spell or pronounce. Standing beside her was her best friend Missandei and Missandei's boyfriend Jacob. Missandei was a slight black girl with a beautiful, large afro and a cute button nose that turned slightly upward at the tip. Missandei was soft-spoken and her boyfriend equally so, while Dany was more vivacious and outgoing, however the pair complemented each other perfectly. Lucy could not stop staring at Dany, who was not only painfully beautiful, but also elegant and fascinating at the same time.

"I'm not really sure who the fuck that is, though," Ygritte interrupted Lucy's thoughts, gesturing her beer bottle toward a girl in the center of the room who was dancing wildly and stumbling all over the place. She was dressed like some kind of bohemian hippie, had shorter, unkempt brown hair with tan skin, and was clearly trashed. Lucy noticed that both Tormund and Gendry seemed unable to tear their eyes off of her. Gendry appeared positively smitten, while Tormund had an expression on his face that looked akin to a lion stalking its prey. Lucy glanced over at Sansa to see what she thought of this entertaining scene, but she continued to be enchanted with Joffrey. Lucy frowned; while Sansa babbled on about trivial subjects, Joffrey and Margaery repeatedly stole flirtatious glances with one another and Sansa was none the wiser. 

The next second, two things suddenly happened: Ygritte said something about finding Jon and escorting the drunk girl out of the apartment before she hurt herself or someone else, and the apartment door opened.

The moment Lucy had been dreading all evening had finally arrived: Jaime Lannister stepped over the threshold. 

Lucy dove behind Ygritte in a heartbeat, but Ygritte took no notice; she had just spotted Jon talking to Dany, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion; Lucy could practically feel the heat of her anger crackling from the ends of her fiery red hair. Before Lucy had a chance to console her, Ygritte stormed off in Jon's direction, leaving Lucy utterly exposed. Jaime noticed Lucy immediately and began to make his way through the crowded apartment towards her. Lucy's heart began to pound in panic, but she steadied herself with a deep breath and a quick mental prayer for confidence. All too soon, Jaime Lannister stood directly in front of her, a charming smile on his face.

"Lucy?" he asked warmly. Lucy could sense him watching her, so she slowly looked up. His gray-blue eyes shone with sincerity, and Lucy felt a bit more at ease. But, only a bit. She felt her cheeks heat up, and her heart started to hammer once more.

"Uh, yeah...hey! Wait, how did you know it was me?" She asked, chuckling, feeling stupider by the minute. 

"Well, your brothers told me all about you," he began, the charisma positively dripping from his voice. "And I creeped you on Facebook," he added sheepishly, biting his lip with an anxious grin.

"...oh," Lucy laughed awkwardly. "Of course, yeah." Her eyes darted away from his face and she tucked her hair nervously behind her right ear. She desperately wanted to disappear, but she didn't know what to say or do to excuse herself.

Jaime broke the awkward silence. "Something's terribly wrong here..." he trailed off, frowning.

 _Oh God, I've scared him away already_ , Lucy thought miserably. _I suck._

"Neither of us have drinks! Can I get you something?" he asked sociably. Lucy was taken aback, not expecting his response to be anything but negative.

"Oh, sure!" she said shyly. Jaime walked over to where the drinks sat readily available. Lucy had the urge to run straight out the apartment door, but she fought it. She waited, chewing the inside of her mouth, wondering what the fuck the two of them would even talk about. She quickly looked across the room and saw Robb and Talisa watching her with grins on their faces. Robb gave her a quick thumbs-up, which she hastily reciprocated before Jaime returned to her side, a drink for each of them in hand.

~

"GRAB SOMEBODY SEXY TELL EM _**HEY**_! GIVE ME EVERYTHING TONIGHT! I WANT ALL OF YOU TONIIIIIGHTT!" 

Lucy and Jaime screamed the lyrics to the Pitbull song that was playing, drunk and rowdy. It was much later that night. Most everyone had either left or were passed out on the furniture or floor. Tormund and his rugby gang were among those who had already left the party, so Jaime and Lucy now occupied the couch, leaning into one another sloppily and singing stupidly to the familiar party songs that played from Robb's phone. In a surprise turn of events, it had actually been extremely easy to talk to and get along with Jaime, especially with a few drinks in each of them. They were on their sixth or seventh round now -- Lucy had lost count and was having too much fun to pay attention or care. However, it was sneaking up on 3:00am, and in just a few short hours, the sun would rise and classes would start. 

"Luce," Robb said loudly, turning the music off and interrupting their impromptu karaoke session. "It's really fuckin' late. The rest of us are going to head to bed, and I think you should too." Ygritte sat on the loveseat, asleep, her head drooping to one side, while Jon sat next to her and stroked her hair tenderly. Talisa was slumped against the one wall, yawning, her eyes half shut, and Sansa was nowhere to be found. Lucy looked completely crestfallen. Jaime stood up, swaying slightly, and held out his hand to her. Lucy took it, and reluctantly allowed Jaime to pull her up and lead her out the apartment door. 

Once outside, Jaime still clutched Lucy's hand in his and turned to face her. 

"'S right yaknow," he slurred. "Should gesome sleep, yep." Lucy giggled weakly, suddenly feeling tired herself. She allowed herself to sink briefly into Jaime, breathing in the scent of alcohol and his cologne. In one swift motion, Jaime tipped her head upwards and kissed her cheek sweetly, his lips lingering for a few seconds. Lucy closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. 

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, princess," Jaime whispered affectionately in her ear before walking out into the night. Lucy touched her cheek where Jaime's kiss had been, clinging onto the sensation. The evening was chilly, but her cheek felt warm. Unable to stop smiling, Lucy turned around and walked back inside and collapsed on her bed, falling into a deep sleep almost instantly, Sansa already snoring away in her bed beside her.

~

> **Jaime:** How are you feeling this morning? ;)
> 
> **Lucy:** Ugh. Awful.
> 
> **Jaime:** Shit. Yeah, me too hahaha. Guess we might have drank too much huh
> 
> **Lucy:** Yeah lol
> 
> **Jaime:** Well, if you're feeling up for it, wanna meet me somewhere for lunch?
> 
> **Lucy:** Sure :)
> 
> **Lucy:** Where?
> 
> **Jaime:** Fratelli's. It's a seafood and pasta place right across the street from campus
> 
> **Lucy:** Alright, sounds good. I'll meet you there after my morning classes
> 
> **Lucy:** If I don't die first

Lucy put her phone down and moaned. It was 7:30am the next morning. Lucy's first class started at 8:00am, and she felt like death. Her head was throbbing, it was way too bright out for her to even open her eyes, and she felt ready to puke. She gingerly got out of bed, feeling dizzy and trying not to fall, and since she was still in her clothes from the night before, didn't bother to change them. Throwing her hair up in a messy bun and grabbing the keys to the Civic along with her sunglasses, Lucy hurriedly left the room while giving a quick glance to Sansa, who was still asleep -- her first class wasn't until 10:00am.

"Lucky bitch," Lucy grumbled to herself. 

Before heading to campus, Lucy stopped at a gas station first to grab a large bottle of purple Gatorade for her hangover. Breakfast was a non-issue -- there was no way she could stomach anything right now even if she wanted to.

Lucy was in such a hurry and feeling so miserable that she wasn't even nervous for her classes at all -- she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. When she entered the classroom for her first lecture she was relieved to find that she wasn't the only one with a bottle of Gatorade; there were quite a few other students who also looked bedraggled and hungover. Lucy chose a seat near the back of the room and checked her phone once more as she sat down. There was another message from Jaime:

> **Jaime:** Please don't die on me, I had way too much fun with you last night and I'm looking forward to seeing more of you :)

Lucy couldn't help but smile at his sweetness. This whole dating thing was turning out to be a lot easier and fun than she ever expected it to be. 


	4. Hard Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are introduced to Ramsay Bolton (fucking finally) and his girlfriend Myranda, who have a violent altercation and then some make-up sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll give you one last chance to hold me  
> If you give me one last cigarette  
> By now it's early in the morning  
> Now that I gave you what you want  
> All I want is to forget

It was nearing 4:00am when Ramsay Bolton got back to his dilapidated studio apartment following a long night at the bar. After shutting the apartment door, he rubbed his eyes wearily before taking his shirt off to reveal a nicely toned chest and biceps. Although he was quite drunk already, Ramsay made his way to the old refrigerator and grabbed another beer before collapsing onto the queen-sized bed that took up most of the main room. He watched his apartment door expectantly, but nothing happened. Ramsay sighed and grumbled audibly. He could have sworn his girlfriend, Myranda, had left the bar right behind him, but apparently not. He continued to drink his beer, becoming more annoyed by the minute. Finally, when Ramsay had one small swig left in his bottle, the apartment door opened and the thin figure of Myranda Hale entered the room, her long chocolate hair slightly windswept. 

"Where the fuck have you been?" he shot at her angrily.

"Chill, babe, I was getting us cigarettes," she answered.

"Liar," he hissed.

Myranda rolled her eyes and tossed an unopened pack of Marlboro reds at him. Ramsay grabbed them swiftly out of the air, then stood up, his jaw set. Myranda had her back to him, taking her black leather jacket off.

"I saw you," he snarled.

"What?" Myranda continued to be oblivious to her lover's rage. 

"Don't be stupid. I saw you and that scum Carl staring at each other. Eye fucking each other." He took a few swift steps towards where Myranda stood. She whirled around, defiant.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Ramsay," she said, her cheeks slightly flushed, not entirely meeting his gaze. "I don't even know--" Ramsay strode forward and backhanded Myranda, hard. She cried out, the force of it knocking her off of her feet and onto the hard wooden floor. An angry red welt began to form at the top of her right cheek, right below her eye. Shaking, she covered the mark with her hand, wincing in pain as tears sprung to her eyes. Ramsay took a step so that he was positioned right above her hips. He stared down at her, his blue eyes cold and calculating.

"Oh, but you do know," Ramsay said, his voice dangerously quiet. His fingers brushed the silver buckle of his belt, and he slowly began to undo it. "Do I need to remind you who you belong to?" he asked threateningly. Myranda whimpered pathetically and desperately tried to crawl away from him. But, Ramsay was too quick for her. He grabbed her ankle ferociously, dragging her body back towards him. He moved his grasp to one of her small wrists, yanking her back up into a standing position, not caring that he about pulled her shoulder out of its socket in the process. Ramsay held her petite waist in a possessive iron grip. Myranda attempted to fight him off, kicking and shoving at him like a child. He roughly pulled her towards the bed, a crazed look in his eyes.

"I will not let you take me like a dog!" Myranda screamed fiercely. Ramsay chuckled with malicious glee.

"Why not? Your father is my hounds' caretaker. You even smell like a dog most of the time," he teased, a smirk playing on his face. Myranda screeched like a cat, clawing savagely at his cheek and drawing blood with two deep scratches from her sharp nails. 

Ramsay groaned in arousal, his cock twitching slightly. 

"You know how much I love it when you're violent," he purred in her ear seductively. Myranda trembled, feeling her own arousal start to awaken between her legs. She knew she wouldn't be able to resist much longer.

"What's the matter, Myranda?" Ramsay nipped at her earlobe, running his hand precariously close to her area, brushing her inner thigh. "Am I making you wet already? I know what kind of girl you are, what you want." Myranda breathed deeply, her heart racing, doing her best to stifle a low moan. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, her hands clenched tightly around his exposed upper arms. Ramsay kissed her rose-colored lips harshly, his movements volatile and ravenous. 

"N-no," Myranda panted, half-heartedly attempting to push him away again. But deep down, she knew better. Nobody said no to Ramsay Bolton. And, a small part of her, which was growing bigger by the second, knew she got off on him man-handling her. 

Ramsay chuckled softly, running his tongue along her lips fleetingly before diving into her neck, kissing, sucking, biting with vigor. Myranda gasped in ecstasy, leaning into him, completely submitting herself to her feral desires and his whims. When he pulled away from her, she gently guided his hand up to his wounded cheek, rubbing his fingers in the warm, wet blood. Ramsay stared at her hungrily, wondering what was coming next. She then brought his hand to her mouth, sucking the blood off of his fingers slowly, relishing in the metallic taste of her lover's claret. Ramsay let out a primal moan, feeling his cock grow in an attempt to burst through his jeans. He took his hand from her mouth and placed it around her throat, drawing her even closer, reaching his other hand underneath her shirt to fondle her breasts and caress her nipples lightly. His breathing hitched, feeling their hardness, and Myranda's knees buckled as she let out a pleading, desperate whine, begging to be fucked. Myranda wanted, needed, Ramsay to take her...and never give her back.

That was all the cue Ramsay needed. This time, when he guided her towards the bed and began to tear her clothes off at a frantic pace, Myranda didn't fight back. They kissed each other ravenously, biting and tearing at each other's lips until they were red and raw, pulling each other's clothes off blindly until they were both as naked as Adam and Eve, and Ramsay's length had sprung free of its fabric prison. Breathing heavily, Myranda left a trail of kisses down Ramsay's torso, biting his flesh at random intervals, until she reached her lover's large member. Ramsay tilted his head back and held out his arms like a god being worshipped as Myranda took him into her mouth. 

"Mmmmm," she breathed sensually, kissing, licking, and sucking his soft, sensitive tip. Ramsay shuddered with lust, loving how her tongue felt on his rock-hard cock. Myranda moaned erotically as she began to run her tongue up and down his shaft, slow at first and then at a more rapid pace.

"Oh, fuck, yes," Ramsay growled breathlessly, reaching an arm down and running his fingers through Myranda's hair, guiding himself into her further, as far as he could go; she wrapped her arms around his thighs and dug her nails into his ass cheeks, thrusting her head back and forth swiftly, guiding his cock in and out of her throat, wrapping and flicking her tongue up and down and all around his thick shaft. She grunted loudly, sending vibrations of her voice from his tip all the way down to his balls.

Ramsay's hips bucked and his legs began to shake. Right before he was about to cum, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and ripped her away from him; in one swift motion he threw her forcefully backwards onto the bed, straddling her and rubbing his tip all around the outside of her cunt, teasing her, not quite going in.

"Ramsay, oh god, Ramsay, please," she gasped desperately, raising her hips as an invitation for him to pound his dick into her. But, Ramsay wasn't ready yet. He lowered himself until he was just above her body but not quite touching it and began to attack and bite at her shoulders and collarbones until they were bloody and bruised. Myranda screamed wildly with pain and pleasure; as she did so, Ramsay thrusted himself forcefully into her; the sudden sensation made her breath catch in her throat and she tore one hand through his scalp and clawed the other at his bare back.

Ramsay grunted ferociously, pounding her cunt slowly but harshly, feeling her walls close around his aching cock as he pushed himself deeper and deeper inside of her. Myranda wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer to her; Ramsay picked up his pace until their hips were slapping together loudly and her small tits were bouncing up and down from the movement. He ravaged her breasts next; swirling his tongue around her nipples, biting and sucking at them.

"Oh fuck, RAMSAY!" Myranda wailed, feeling her cunt tighten and clench itself possessively around his thick dick. Ramsay's breathing halted fleetingly as he tried to keep up his rapid pace but felt himself losing control as he came closer and closer to his release; his legs began to tremor once again. Myranda felt her orgasm course through her body; she gasped and grunted out wildly as her hips bucked; touching her clit for good measure, she screamed once again as she felt the warmth of her climax spread from her cunt down to the tips of her toes. Ramsay let out a heavy groan as his eyes rolled back into his head and he felt his seed spill inside of Myranda in three quick bursts. Sweating, shaking, he pulled himself out of her, cum oozing out of her cunt and dripping off of his member; he collapsed on top of her, both of them breathing quickly and deeply as if they had just finished running a marathon, gasping for air that didn't seem to fill their lungs quickly enough.  

~

"I love you, Ramsay," Myranda murmured, her breathing finally slowing down. On the bed beside her, Ramsay made a "mmmmrrmph" noise of contentment in response, shifting his body closer to Myranda's. He was asleep within minutes, his breathing even and peaceful. But, Myranda could not sleep, even after all that she and Ramsay had just done together. Once she was positive that he wasn't waking up anytime soon, Myranda eased herself out of his bed, pulled on her panties and one of Ramsay's old tshirts, and made her way over to her discarded jacket to grab a cigarette. She lit one up and walked to the window, staring pensively down at the dark street below. The sky was slowly turning a deep blue as sunrise approached. Myranda leaned her forehead against the cool glass and exhaled, continuing to smoke. She sighed morosely as she noticed her black eye in the window's reflection; she had completely forgotten about it in the frantic passion that had ensued afterwards. 

Myranda knew with every fiber of her being that what she was mixed up in with Ramsay was wrong. She knew she should run, but she couldn't, even if she wanted to try. She was helplessly addicted to him: his touch, his scent, his taste, his warmth, his violence and abuse. She needed him like she needed air to breathe. And, she was alarmingly okay with that.

~

Ramsay opened his eyes blearily later that morning, the sun shining on his face in an annoying fashion. He grumbled and rolled over, feeling Myranda's thin frame lying next to his. His eyes jerked open widely.

"Get up," he growled, shoving her body forcefully away from his. Myranda inhaled sharply at his rude awakening. She hopped out of bed as if the mattress were suddenly on fire.

"Ramsay?!" she said in hurt and confusion. He rolled back around, facing away from her.

"I didn't give you permission to stay over," he said lowly. 

"What? But--" Myranda protested in shock.

"Get out!" Ramsay spat. There was a long pause.

"Ramsay..." Myranda began softly. He knew his annoyance and anger would soon boil over, and so did she. Finally, he heard her slowly dress herself and gather her things. She crossed the room and opened the apartment door, slamming it behind her.

Ramsay sighed with slight regret. He wasn't entirely sure how things ended up like this, or why. He and Myranda had known each other forever; since they were kids. The two were inseparable, seeing how her father worked for his. As time passed, they became inseparable in other ways, too. At first, it felt amazing; like the two of them could take on the world and do whatever their cruel hearts desired. He supposed he must have loved her at one time. However, he knew that he definitely didn't now. Ramsay didn't dislike Myranda, per say; he just kept her around as a convenience, a toy for whenever he had an itch. A plaything for his violent urges. He sickeningly knew that she had nowhere else to go and so he continued to use and control her for his own twisted amusement. He did not value her, and he knew it; he kept her around because she was so willing to worship him and boost his already large ego.

Outside the apartment, leaning against the crumbling wall, Myranda had silent tears running down her face, sobbing uncontrollably on the inside.


	5. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While attending a business party at the Stark estate, Lucy is introduced to Roose Bolton and his son Ramsay, whom she is immediately smitten with, even though her brothers tell her to stay away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This night is flawless, don't you let it go  
> I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home  
> I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
> I was enchanted to meet you

Over the next few weeks, Lucy settled into an easy routine at Westeros University: go to class, come back to the apartment, spend time with Jaime, or Sansa, or her brothers, fitting in assignments for classes whenever possible. Most weekends were spent at parties or social gatherings. Lucy tried not to get too wild too much, but oftentimes she found herself having to help Sansa home, help her puke over the toilet, and/or help her into bed. 

She continued to feel at ease with Jaime as well; their time together was spent comfortably dining out, cuddling on the couch at either of their apartments while watching tv or a movie, and helping each other with assignments. Lucy sometimes went to his football practices to watch him, but found herself bored with it most of the time so she didn't make a habit out of it. She did go to all of his games though, Sansa usually tagging along, both of them cheering wildly whenever Westeros scored, sloshing cheap beer onto themselves in the process, as most times they ended up a bit tipsy by the time the game was done.

Sansa continued to see Joffrey, although Lucy considered 'seeing' to be a very loose term, as Joffrey seemed to blow Sansa off more times times than not. When Lucy voiced her concerns to Sansa, Sansa would hear none of it -- she was infatuated with Joffrey and effortlessly overlooked his less-than-stellar behavior. 

One Wednesday evening at the end of September, Robb knocked on Lucy's bedroom door; Jaime was at practice and Lucy was using her spare time to catch up on classwork at her desk while Sansa was mindlessly watching TV, checking her phone every so often for a nonexistent text from Joffrey. Lucy tore her eyes away from her math textbook and looked at Robb, who stood against the door frame.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I just got off the phone with Mom and Dad," he began. "They need us to come home this weekend for an important party. Dad's company merged with another's, and all of the parties involved are getting together at Mom and Dad's to celebrate on Sunday night. They want me, you and Jon to be there." 

Lucy shrugged, shifting her attention back to her math assignment. "Jaime has a game Saturday night, but I guess I have no choice."

"I'm sure he'll understand, Luce," Robb said sardonically. "You'll get to meet his dad, though."

"What? Jaime's?" Lucy's eyes were back on Robb.

"Yeah. Mr. Lannister is in charge of a gigantic financial corporation that is funding the merge. So naturally he is going to be at the party also," Robb explained.

"Interesting," Lucy mused, back to perusing her math book. "Maybe Jaime will want to come."

"Well whatever, but we're leaving Saturday afternoon. Be ready. You'll get to spend a night back in your old bed again," Robb smiled and walked back down the hallway.

Lucy looked over at Sansa. "Did you hear that?"

"Yep," Sansa said in a business-like tone. "It will be the perfect opportunity to have Joffrey over so we can have the apartment to ourselves. I already texted him about it." She had a mischievous look in her eyes. Lucy shook her head but didn't say anything, trying again to focus on her homework.

~

The next evening, Jaime and Lucy had just returned to Jaime's apartment after another dinner at Fratelli's. They were sitting on the couch, Lucy's legs resting on Jaime's lap, when Lucy decided to bring up the party at her parents' on Sunday night.

"You know I can't, hun, I have a game," he said apologetically. "And even if I didn't...my dad and I don't get along very well." He gave Lucy a sad smile.

"Why not?" Lucy asked curiously, taking Jaime's hand into hers. Jaime sighed.

"It's a bit complicated...he just has very high expectations of me, as his only son. He always has. But it became more pronounced after my mom died."

"When -- how...?" Lucy trailed off.

Jaime gripped her hand tightly. "My mom died while giving birth to my younger brother...who also died too. It was hard on all of us, but especially on my dad and my sister." It was the first time Lucy had ever heard Jaime mention his sister. "He really wants me to carry on the family business, but I just don't think it's for me. And he doesn't always hide his disappointment in me," Jaime chuckled wryly. 

"Does your dad...does he know about me?" Lucy asked cautiously, gently playing with Jaime's fingers. He smiled endearingly at her.

"No. At least, I haven't told him yet. But I did tell my sister, and she probably told him herself. Cersei's very...protective of our family. She views our family, the Lannister name, our money, very highly. As if we are better than others. So she's very judgmental of anyone who enters our lives. She tells dad everything, and he shows favoritism towards her because of that, because of her proud attitude. I shouldn't have told her, but she's my sister...I should know better by now," Jaime smirked. 

"Do you think your dad won't like me?" Lucy wondered.

"Nah, it's not that at all. It's just...easier if he doesn't know. That's all."

Lucy didn't press the subject any further.

~

Sunday night, before her parents soiree, found Lucy at her vanity in her bathroom adjoined to her large bedroom, adding the finishing touches to her getup, when Rickon entered her room, calling her name. Lucy stepped out of her bathroom to meet him.

"What's up, dude?" she said to Rickon affectionately. 

"I need help with my tie," he grinned sheepishly. 

"And you came to me instead of your brothers because...?" Lucy trailed off.

"Well, you do ties better than they do. But don't tell them that," Rickon confessed. Lucy laughed.

"Alright fine," she said with a smile, making her way over to her younger brother and expertly doing it up in a tight, neat knot. She stepped back, critiquing her work.

"Thanks," Rickon said, peering down at it.

"You're welcome." Lucy paused, then added, "are you going to do anything with that mop of yours?" indicating Rickon's mass of sandy curls.

"Nah," he said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "Mom and Dad don't care, and I'll get overlooked anyways." Lucy gave him a smirk. 

"You though, you look amazing," Rickon said with awe. "College has really changed you." Lucy laughed again.

"What?! I don't think so, dude. I'm still the same," she reassured him. She did have to privately admit to herself though that she did a damn good job choosing her outfit and making herself up, a much better job than she did when she first met Jaime. She also had to admit to herself that she made extra sure to look sophisticated due to Jaime's dad being present at the party. If he did indeed know that she was with his son, she wanted to make an excellent impression.

After Rickon left her room, she walked over to her full-length mirror to check herself out one last time before heading downstairs to help receive the guests. She was wearing a sleeveless black dress with a vintage A-line skirt that went to just below her knees with black patent heels. Her chestnut hair was swept back into a loose, low bun at the nape of her neck, and she wore pearls in her ears, around her neck, and on a ring on her finger. To finish, she kept her makeup simple but classic: bright red lips with cat-eyed eyeliner. She looked--and felt--like a fucking goddess. She snapped a selfie with her phone and sent it to Jaime, so he could see what he was missing out on that night.

~

 

 

> **Jaime:** Oh damn, you look gorgeous honey ;)
> 
> **Lucy:** Thanks :)
> 
> **Lucy:** I wish you were here :(
> 
> **Jaime:** I miss you too, sweetie. Can't wait till you get back.

Lucy studied her phone with disinterest as her father gave a long and drawn-out toast about the fortunate uniting of his outdoor apparel chain with Mr. Roose Bolton's hunting and weaponry business. She desperately wished Jaime were here. So far, this 'party' was exactly as boring as she expected it to be: she, Jon, Robb, and Rickon were sat at a circular table with a pristine white tablecloth, while her parents, Mr. Lannister, and Mr. Bolton were at a similar table adjacent to them in the large formal dining/ball room inside the Stark mansion that lead out to a beautiful terrace overlooking the sprawling backyard. Robb and Jon were attempting to appear dutiful, interested, and attentive, but staring at them closely, Lucy noticed that their eyes looked a bit glazed over as they zoned out. Rickon was fidgeting in his seat. Lucy gazed over in the direction of her parents' table at Mr. Bolton and Mr. Lannister. They both had the same self-important, shrewd look about them. When everyone had shaken hands and introduced themselves earlier, Mr. Lannister's eyes had lingered on Lucy's face a bit longer than necessary, which led Lucy to believe that he definitely knew who she was and her relationship with Jaime. All in all, it was an uncomfortable situation, and Lucy couldn't wait until it was over and they were on their way back to their apartment. 

After her father had finally stopped rambling on, the hired caterers began serving the food and casual, friendly chatter began at both tables. Lucy ate quietly while her brothers talked among themselves, eavesdropping on the conversation at the other table, hoping that Mr. Lannister wasn't about to say anything about she and Jaime around her parents--they didn't exactly know about Jaime yet. 

"Roose, where is your son? I thought you had mentioned that he was going to accompany you tonight," Lucy heard her mom ask. She continued to listen with interest.

"Ah yes, he'll be here shortly. Unfortunately, tardiness is something that he is far too talented at," Roose said apologetically. Lucy heard her mom laugh. She picked at her plate, more intent on everyone else's conversations than the food in front of her. Suddenly, the doorbell chimed loudly. 

"That must be him now!" Catelyn said cheerfully. Ned left the room to go receive the other Bolton. Roose stood up from his chair whenever Ned returned, two other people following him. Once the small group was in close proximity of the tables, Roose cleared his throat formally. 

"Allow me to introduce my son, Ramsay, and his friend, Myranda." Catelyn stood up with a welcoming smile on her face.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you both!" she exclaimed, moving forward to shake Ramsay's hand, then proceeded to give Myranda a warm hug. "Please, have a seat!" she gestured toward the Stark children's table. Ramsay gave a small bow, his arm snaked around Myranda's waist. 

"Thank you, Mrs. Stark," Ramsay began charmingly. "I sincerely apologize for our late arrival." 

"No apologies necessary, Ramsay. Please, you and Myranda sit down and make yourselves comfortable," Catelyn suggested again. Ramsay nodded his head with slight smile, he and Myranda occupying the two remaining seats at Lucy's table. The caterers immediately moved to bring the new guests their food. Ramsay smiled around at all the Stark siblings, but Lucy noticed that his smile did not quite reach his piercing blue eyes. They certainly weren't unfriendly, but there was a dangerous but alluring aura about them that strongly intrigued Lucy. There was much more to him than this charismatic facade, Lucy thought. Robb and Jon noticed the subtle difference between Ramsay's smile and eyes as well, but instead of curious and interested, they looked surly and cautious. Lucy couldn't understand why--it's not like they knew anything about him. The Stark siblings introduced themselves to the couple, and when Lucy said her name, she couldn't help but see how Ramsay gave her a playful smirk as his eyes raked her up and down. She was surprised when she found herself flashing her eyes at his and biting her lip in a flirty, cheeky manner. Ramsay's grin widened, his eyes dancing excitedly.

Unbeknownst to Lucy, Robb noticed their daring exchange and nudged Jon inconspicuously. Jon raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

Everyone at the table conversed with each other cordially, and although Lucy and Ramsay never spoke directly to each other, they both kept stealing glances at one another when the other wasn't looking. 

"Lucy," Myranda grabbed Lucy's attention, her voice as high and elegant as a wind chime. "So how old are you? What do you do?" she asked in a tone that resembled an older family member asking a young child something with feigned interest. 

"Well, I'm 18 and I just started college," Lucy answered confidently, feeling Ramsay's eyes on her. She felt her cheeks flush. "I'm majoring in Biology. And you?"

"Oh how lovely!" Myranda said in the same condescending tone. "I'm 23 and my father works as a personal assistant to Mr. Bolton, and I help take care of Ramsay's hounds. Ramsay is 24." Myranda looked smugly at her boyfriend, clearly emphasizing their age gap to Lucy's.

With irritation and impatience in his voice, Ramsay added, "Don't make us sound so otherworldly, Myranda." He rolled his eyes and Lucy bit back a smile. "We don't go to college. Well...I tried...but ended up dropping out in my sophomore year," he addressed Lucy directly, a roguish grin on his face. Lucy giggled. She looked over and noticed her two older brothers watching her. She turned away quickly, feeling her cheeks heat up again, and continued to study Ramsay and Myranda. Ramsay had introduced Myranda as his girlfriend, but their actions towards each other spoke differently. Myranda clearly admired Ramsay with devoted, intense adoration. But Ramsay treated her more like an escort than someone he really loved.

"Luce," Jon said quietly, breaking into her thoughts. "C'mere." He jerked his head away from the table, while Robb excused the three of them briefly.

"What?!" Lucy asked exasperatedly as soon as the trio were far enough away from the table to not be overheard.

"Don't 'what' us," Robb shot back. "We saw the way you and Ramsay were looking at one another."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Lucy said, annoyed. "We weren't looking at each other in any kind of way. I'm with Jaime...remember??" Jon snorted. Lucy glared at him.

"Yeah, well...stay away from him," Robb ordered sternly.

"Who are you to tell me who to stay away from? And why? You don't even know him!" Lucy began to feel angry. Jon and Robb exchanged looks, which only riled her up more. " _What?_ " she demanded.

"We've heard some things about the Bolton kid. Stuff gets around, you know," Jon said.

"'The Bolton kid'," Lucy mocked. "He's older than the both of you."

"Whatever," Robb brushed Jon's comment off. "The point is, he's bad news Luce. And we just don't want to see you caught up in it. That's all."

"Caught up in what? We're only talking to one another, and will probably never see each other again," she huffed. Jon smirked.

"Well, you sure are getting defensive over someone you just met twenty minutes ago," he said tauntingly.

"Fuck. You," Lucy hissed at both of her brothers, then stormed off and out onto the terrace for some fresh air. She leaned against the concrete fencing around the terrace, arms crossed in frustration, letting the cool night air caress her face and calm her down. She was finally starting to enjoy herself, and her brothers had to go and ruin it. It was going to be a long ride back to the apartment tonight. Maybe she shouldn't have gotten so pissed, but they were treating her like a child, and she didn't need that. Lucy checked her phone, and, seeing no new messages from Jaime, shoved it back into her clutch with a fresh wave of anger. She knew she should get back to the table and finish eating so she wouldn't appear rude, but she just couldn't after Robb and Jon destroyed her mood. She didn't care about the damn party anymore, or about keeping up appearances for her parents. 

Lucy stood out on the terrace for a long time, staring into the night and lost in her thoughts. She gasped and jumped when she noticed someone was standing beside her, lighting a cigarette.

"Want one?" Ramsay took a drag offered the pack to her. 

"N-no, thanks," Lucy said, her heart thudding in her chest.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked her in amusement. 

Lucy paused. Then, choosing not to answer, she asked, "what are _you_ doing out here? Why aren't you inside with Myranda and the others?"

"Ah," Ramsay chuckled, flicking the built-up ash off his cigarette. "I find you far more interesting than everyone else in there." He smiled flirtatiously at her. 

Lucy turned to face him and just then realized how close to her he really was. She felt her whole body heat up as his hand lightly brushed her bare arm, but not in embarrassment or awkwardness. 

"And why's that?" she asked him brazenly, leaning into him slightly and shooting him tantalizing smile. Ramsay's eyes darkened with desire as he flashed her an enchanting smile. 

"Because I had to tell you...that you look beautiful tonight, Miss Stark," he whispered sensually in her ear, while tucking a loose strand of hair behind it. Lucy's heart hammered, but she didn't shy away.

"Well Mr. Bolton," she said coyly, "I'm glad I met you tonight." She grinned.

"I think we should see each other again. Hang out properly. Get to know each other. Since, you know, our parents are working together now and all," Ramsay said casually, taking his phone from his blazer pocket. Lucy recognized the cue to exchange numbers, and pulled her phone out too.

After they had entered each other into their contacts, Lucy smiled at Ramsay's excruciatingly handsome face, now starting to feel a bit shy.

"I-I guess I'll see you around then," she stammered.

"You can count on it," Ramsay winked while taking another drag, and before he could say anything else, Lucy turned and walked back inside, brushing up against him slightly and trying not to stumble.

Inside was a completely different scene than when she left it. Alcohol had appeared, and there was now a small DJ booth and karaoke machine set up, blasting party music into the air. Lucy watched in horror as her parents danced together drunkenly while Mr. Lannister downed a flute of champagne and Roose sloppily made his way over to the karaoke machine. Lucy scooted quickly over to where Robb and Jon stood, not missing the penetrating look that Myranda was giving her from her seat at the table. 

"What the hell is going on here?" Lucy asked desperately, forgetting their heated exchange earlier. Rickon, still seated, had his face covered in his hands, while Jon, face bright red, avoided gazing at the inebriated older adults. Robb seemed to be the only one who found it genuinely fun and amusing. He laughed jovially, sipping a beer.

A familiar song deafeningly split the speakers.

" _BOY TOY NAMED TROY USED TO LIVE IN DETROIT_ ," Roose shouted the lyrics to Nicki Minaj's Anaconda as he attempted to twerk but almost fell on his face multiple times. Mr. Lannister was splitting his sides with laughter, pounding the table, his face red as a beet. Ned and Cat whooped raucously. 

"Oh my god..." Lucy gasped in dismay at the sight before her eyes. "Let's get out of here, _please_ ," she begged, her eyes darting around the room, praying that Ramsay was nowhere nearby to see this mortifying scene.

Jon tugged Robb's arm. "Yeah, let's go. I don't think mom and dad really care at this point," he reasoned. Robb nodded, stifling his laughter.

"NO!" Rickon jumped up from the table and ran over to his siblings. "Don't leave me alone with them!" 

Lucy grabbed her little brother's arm. "Just sneak up to your room and stay there. Like you said, no one will notice." The Stark siblings were acting as if their lives were in danger. Rickon nodded sadly, gave Lucy a quick hug, and scurried out of the room. Lucy gave one last, longing glance around for Ramsay before following Robb and Jon out of the house.

~

Everyone was quiet on the ride back in the Jeep Patriot, with Jon driving, Robb in the front passenger seat, and Lucy in the back row. Lucy didn't mind; the peace gave her a chance to mentally sort through everything that had happened earlier that night. She couldn't stop thinking about Ramsay...and with a guilty squirm, she realized she didn't want to stop, either.

 _No_ , she scolded herself, _I'm with Jaime!_

But...it was just innocent flirting, right? Ramsay was with Myranda...and even if he wasn't, he was still six years older than her. There's no way in hell he would ever want her. Why would he? What did she have to offer him? Immature college parties and homework? Lucy sighed...she suddenly wished she had a different life...one where she and Ramsay, together, was not so impossible.

 _Maybe it was better this way_ , she thought sadly. Robb and Jon did warn her...and maybe they were right....

Well so what if they were, though? How bad could Ramsay really be? Sure he dropped out of college, but that was no crime. Lucy did have to admit that there was something deliciously sinful and mysterious about him, and that he was proud of being that way. He was captivating and fascinating and all Lucy knew for sure is that she wanted to be around him again -- badly. Thinking about their secret exchange sent tingles down her spine and butterflies in her stomach.

Lucy attempted to bring herself down from her high, because even though he had asked for her number, she was morosely positive that she would never hear from him again and that the next time she saw him, would be in her dreams. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is me praying that  
> This was the very first page  
> Not where the story line ends  
> My thoughts will echo your name  
> Until I see you again  
> These are the words I held back  
> As I was leaving too soon  
> I was enchanted to meet you


	6. On A Wednesday, in a Cafe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy sees Ramsay again. She does not tell her brothers, or Jaime. Only Sansa knows. Lucy remains convinced that her relationship with Ramsay is platonic and innocent, despite their growing attraction toward one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cause you throw your head back laughing like a little kid  
> I think it's strange that you think I'm funny cause he never did  
> I've been spending the last eight months  
> Thinking all love ever does is break, and burn, and end  
> But on a Wednesday, in a cafe, I watched it begin again

"So, how was it?" Sansa asked while chewing a piece of gum.

"I, um...it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Lucy answered awkwardly.

"Did Jaime end up coming?" Sansa asked.

"Um...no," Lucy responded, distracted by something on her cell phone. 

The two girls were hanging out in their bedroom at the apartment Monday afternoon after classes ended. It was the first chance they were able to talk since Lucy got back late Sunday night.

"Did Joffrey end up coming over?" Lucy asked, changing the subject.

"YES!" Sansa exclaimed. "Saturday night. He spent the night here. And oh Lucy, we had such a good time. We ended up going out to..." Sansa trailed off as she noticed Lucy was still distracted by her phone and not paying attention.

"Hey!" Sansa snapped loudly. 

"What?" Lucy's head shot up.

"What's with you? You're acting funny. And not listening to my wonderful weekend, which was probably better than yours," Sansa scoffed.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Lucy said, tossing her phone to the side and sighing.

"Luce. You're full of shit," Sansa said bluntly. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

Lucy fidgeted, picking at the blankets on her bed and not quite meeting Sansa's eyes.

"I, well, I, um...I met someone interesting at my parents' house Sunday night," Lucy answered vaguely.

"Someone? Someone who? A guy? A girl? What happened?" Sansa grilled Lucy impatiently.

"A guy," Lucy felt her face heat up, still not looking Sansa in the eye. There was an uncharacteristic moment of silence between the two cousins. Sansa had a rather smug look on her face.

"Uh huh, I knew there was something," Sansa said triumphantly. "Who is he? What's he like? What happened?!" she continued her assault of questions with excitement. Lucy smiled sheepishly.

"His name is Ramsay. His dad merged his company with Mom and Dad's. He asked for my number. And, he's absolutely gorgeous," Lucy sighed dreamily, flopping backwards onto her bed and pillows.

"Oh, and, he's 24," Lucy stared up at the ceiling.

"Lucy, you VIXEN!" Sansa shrieked.

"Shhhhh!" Lucy shushed Sansa in a panic, hopping up off of her bed and running to shut their bedroom door so Robb or Jon wouldn't hear their conversation. 

"No, no, no I'm not!" Lucy sat back down rigidly on the edge of her bed, pleading with Sansa hastily. "He sat across from me at dinner! And he looked at me, and I looked at him, and that's all! I didn't do anything!"

"Dude, calm down," Sansa snickered ruthlessly. "I'm only fucking with you. So...what else??"

"I haven't heard from him yet," Lucy began, looking down at her lap. "I mean, not that I really expect him to text me. He has a girlfriend. And, even if he didn't, why would he be interested in me? I think he was just messing with me, to be honest."

"He has a girlfriend? And he still asked for your number? That's odd..." Sansa pondered.

"I know. Like I said--" 

The loud beep of Lucy's phone cut her off. She and Sansa exchanged a jolted look.

"It...it's probably just Jaime," Lucy said doubtfully. Her hand shook slightly as she reached for her phone.

> **Ramsay:** Hey beautiful ;)

Lucy's heart thudded in her chest.

"It really is him," she said quietly in disbelief. Sansa gasped dramatically.

"What did he say?!" Sansa asked.

"Hey beautiful. With a winky face," Lucy answered. "What do I say??"

"Really, Luce?" Sansa asked with sarcasm. "You say 'hey' back. Duh."

> **Lucy:** Hey you. What's up?

She tried to play it cool, even though her heart was pounding a mile a minute. The two girls waited with baited breath. Then--

> **Ramsay:** Nothing interesting. Want to go out for coffee with me Wednesday evening?

Lucy bit her lip, holding back a scream. She silently showed her phone to Sansa.

"OH MY GOD," Sansa breathed, her eyes wide. "Well, what are you going to do? You're going to go, right?"

Lucy reluctantly put her phone down beside her. 

"I..I don't know," she began uncertainly. "Jon and Robb...they don't like him."

"Why?" Sansa asked skeptically.

"I...I dunno. They said...that he's not a good guy. They told me to stay away from him," Lucy continued.

"What?!" Sansa snorted. "That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard! How do they know that?"

"I have no idea," Lucy wondered.

"Pfft, fuck them!" Sansa waved her hand impatiently.

Lucy found her resolve. With trembling but determined hands, she texted:

> **Lucy:** Sure :)

"You're right," Lucy agreed.

"So you're going then?" Sansa questioned excitedly. Lucy nodded.

"Oh my god!" Sansa repeated. "Wait--what about Jaime?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with going for coffee with a friend," Lucy explained. A slow smirk spread across Sansa's face.

"What??" Lucy asked, a touch of defiance in her voice.

"Nothing, nothing," Sansa said genially, distracting herself with her own cell phone.

> **Ramsay:** Cool. I can come pick you up? I actually live right here in the city.
> 
> **Lucy:** No, that's okay. I can just meet you there.

"Just, please," Lucy said seriously. "Don't say anything to Robb or Jon."

"Of course I won't," Sansa assured her as she sent a text, probably to Joffrey.

> **Ramsay:** I look forward to seeing you again
> 
> **Lucy:** :)

* * *

"So, where were you last night? I was hoping to see you, or at least hear from you," Jaime asked Lucy, sounding slightly disappointed.

It was the next day, and Jaime and Lucy had a small break between their afternoon classes so they found themselves hanging out together on the campus quad. It was an unusually warm day for the beginning of October, and the sun beamed down on the picnic table where they sat, Lucy on the bench and Jaime, next to her, on the table top itself. He was playing lightly with her hair, and she felt a slight twinge of annoyance, but she didn't tell him to stop.

"I'm sorry. I was just really tired from being out late Sunday night so I went straight to sleep after classes yesterday," Lucy fibbed while looking down at the ground.

"Ah, I understand now. Since I have practice tonight, I guess that means tomorrow night we'll hang out?" Jaime asked.

Lucy was about to automatically agree to their predictable plans, when she realized -- tomorrow was Wednesday. The evening she was supposed to see _Ramsay_. Her heart began to race wildly in her chest and she swallowed hard.

"I...can't," she began slowly, thinking hard for an excuse. "I have a big project I've been putting off that I need to really get started on tomorrow night. I'll be in the library all night."

"Well, I don't mind keeping you company. And, maybe I can help out," Jaime offered.

 _Shit_ , Lucy thought to herself. _What now?_

"Sansa has the same project," Lucy lied. "So, she'll be there too and we'll be going in on it together."

"Oh," Jaime answered with a short chuckle. "Well I guess that means I won't get any of your time until Thursday night, then."

"Yeah," Lucy said while checking the time on her phone. "Shit, I've gotta get to class. I'll talk to you later." She stood up with a smile, and, giving Jaime a quick kiss, hurried off to her last class of the day.

* * *

At 6:00pm sharp Wednesday evening, Lucy arrived in Sansa's Civic at the cafe Ramsay had indicated, which was about a mile from the University in the small city of West End. She got out of the car and smoothed the bottom of one of her less-grungy plaid shirts. Her hair was swept back into a low ponytail. Lucy figured she ought to be nervous, but she really wasn't. She knew this meeting could go one of two ways, and honestly? She was just happy that she was getting a second chance to talk to Ramsay.

Lucy walked into the cafe and saw him immediately, slightly surprised that he had beat her there. He was sat facing her in a cozy booth against the left wall of the cafe with a window to look out of. She made her way over to him with a confident smirk on her face. Ramsay smiled genuinely back at her. 

"Hey," he said warmly as she sat down across from him. "Nice shirt."

"Oh my god," Lucy giggled when she realized that Ramsay was _also_ wearing a plaid button-down. "Great minds think alike, I suppose."

"Indeed," Ramsay grinned, showing all of his teeth, which were rather pointy in a cute way. "So, what'll you have? What can I get you?" 

Lucy's heart skipped a beat as she realized this meant Ramsay would be paying for her share.

"Honestly? I'll just take a smoothie. I don't really need any caffeine right now," she answered with an apologetic grin.

"No problem. I'll be right back," Ramsay winked as he stood up and went to the baristas at the counter to order. 

Lucy hummed a little to herself as she kicked her feet back and forth under the table. She was giddy--she knew it. She figured it was because this would be the last--and only--time she would be hanging out with Ramsay Bolton one-on-one. She wanted to enjoy every second of it. Lucy looked over at his side of the table and saw a pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes sitting on the corner against the wall. She also noticed a black leather jacket on his seat, propped up against the window. Lucy wondered where he lived, what he did...she wanted to know everything.

A few minutes later, Ramsay returned with Lucy's smoothie and a cup of black coffee for himself. 

"Thanks," Lucy said eagerly as she took a sip. "Mmmm, this is delicious!" she exclaimed. The smoothie was strawberry-kiwi with just the right texture and perfect amount of sweetness.

Ramsay chuckled. "I knew you'd like it here."

"How?" Lucy asked with a giggle.

Ramsay shrugged nonchalantly. "I just did," he answered with a cocky grin. Lucy's heart fluttered just a tiny bit at how gorgeous he was.

Taking another sip, Lucy asked, "so...why did you ask me to come out tonight?"

Ramsay snickered into his coffee cup. "Do I need a reason?"

"Yes. You do," Lucy boldly teased.

He looked at her seriously. "Is it wrong for me to want to see you again? I told you I wanted to get to know you." His beautiful cerulean eyes bored into hers, and Lucy forgot for a moment where she was.

"I, uh--no, it's not wrong...what about Myranda? I mean--" Lucy quickly caught herself, "how is she?"

A bemused expression crossed Ramsay's face. "She's alright, I guess. Why do you ask?"

"Oh--well, I just know she is your girlfriend," Lucy pointed out the obvious. "And, I have a boyfriend." Lucy inwardly cringed and wanted to kick herself for saying such a stupid thing.

"Do you now?" Ramsay cocked an eyebrow, amused. "Does he treat you right? I'll kick his ass if he doesn't."

"Y-yes, he does. He's really sweet," Lucy felt her cheeks heat up, and she desperately wanted to talk about something else. "So--how did you like the party on Sunday? I hope you weren't too bored," she giggled nervously.

Ramsay snorted, smiling and shaking his head. "No, I definitely was not bored. Not in the slightest. It was...interesting."

"Oh my god did you see your dad?" Lucy's eyes widened as she snickered. Ramsay rolled his eyes.

"Yes...he always gets out of control at parties. Especially with Tywin. The two of them together are like a bunch of frat boys."

"Tywin?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah--Tywin Lannister. He was at the party too, remember?" Ramsay reminded her.

Lucy about choked on the sip of smoothie she was taking.

"What's wrong?" Ramsay asked, confused.

"Oh--nothing. That's my boyfriend's dad. I didn't know that was his name," Lucy admitted. 

Ramsay gave an amused smirk. "You're dating _the_ Jaime Lannister, then?"

"Yeah...do you know him?" Lucy wondered.

"Everybody knows the Lannisters and their money. They are practically famous around here," Ramsay scoffed. "I bet he does treat you well. Like a regular princess."

Lucy wondered if that was a slight hint of jealousy she detected in his voice. "Not really. Not like that. We don't really do anything exciting...just hang out. And go to football games. And campus parties. You know, normal college stuff," Lucy shrugged. She wanted to get away from talking about Jaime again.

"So Ramsay, what do you do? What does _the_ Ramsay Bolton do for a living?" Lucy mused, giving a slightly flirtatious smirk.

Ramsay smirked back, noticing her play on his words. 

"Ahh..." he chuckled. "Nothing glamorous. I just assist my dad with his work, and he supports me for my help."

"Oh, so you help him run his weaponry business?" Lucy asked with interest.

"No. My father has other business interests as well," Ramsay answered ambiguously. 

Lucy frowned. 'Other business interests'? What did that mean? Could this be whatever Jon and Robb were alluding to that night? But, again, how did they know any of this?

"I see..." Lucy trailed off. Then--

"My brothers told me to stay away from you. They told me you were...dangerous," Lucy suggested coyly, biting her lip, gazing at him intensely. A fire seemed to light in Ramsay's eyes, on his face. Lucy felt his foot nudge hers slightly, his leg leaning on hers. A warm tingle spread through Lucy's body--her heart began to race, and she didn't pull her leg away from his.

"What do you think?" Ramsay asked darkly, his handsome face held a sly smile. 

Lucy daringly rubbed her calf against his, hands shaking slightly under the table. "I think...I'd like to find out for myself." She looked up at him demurely underneath her eyelashes.

"Ahh," Ramsay exhaled with a teasing smile, leaning back in his seat. "Maybe you will."

"I'd like that," Lucy beamed, finally pulling her leg away from his and grabbing the remainder of her smoothie.

The two finished their drinks, returning to friendly, innocent conversation, all trace of their earlier flirtatiousness gone. Afterwards, Ramsay walked Lucy out to her car, moving close to her and brushing his arm up against hers. Lucy's arm was on fire from his touch. She tried, with futility, to suppress her epiphany of never before had she wanted someone so badly. There was an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach--something she had never felt with Jaime--it confused and intrigued her. Lucy's heart ached as they stood next to Sansa's car; the night had gone way too fast, and she might not ever see Ramsay like this again. The thought killed her, and she tried not to look sad in front of him. 

"Hey--thanks for coming out with me tonight. And, you take care of yourself, ok?" Ramsay encouraged. Lucy leaned against the driver's side door and Ramsay faced her.

"I-I will," she said, the disappointment all too obvious in her voice. Her heart began to throb madly as Ramsay leaned in and kissed her forehead tenderly, his hand resting lightly on her cheek.

"Don't forget," he whispered in her ear. "I'll kick his fucking ass if he hurts you."

Lucy smiled shyly as he pulled away from her. 

"Goodnight," she said softly as she turned and got into Sansa's car. Ramsay gave a short wave and walked off into the night, lighting a cigarette as he went.

* * *

Lucy waltzed through the days that followed in a dreamlike state. She could not stop thinking about Ramsay, no matter what she did. During classes, she would daydream about the things the two of them could do together. As she lay in bed at night, she wondered if he was still awake, what he was doing. She often wondered if he thought about her as much as she thought about him. She heard from him every few days or so, just a simple text now and then to check in and ask how she was doing. He had not mentioned seeing her again, and she expected as much; still, just the fact that he thought to text her at all made her happy. It got her through all of the mundane hours of her days.

Others close to her quickly began to notice that she was not entirely herself, and although she never seemed to be in a bad mood, she was very distant with those around her, as if her thoughts were somewhere else. Which they were. However, nobody but Sansa knew where, or why.

The day after their pseudo-date, Sansa begged Lucy for details, but to her frustration, Lucy would not give them. Lucy kept all of the more intimate moments to herself, as if revealing any of them would make that night less special. 

About a week after seeing Ramsay, Jaime voiced his concerns to her on her recent change of behavior. Lucy shrugged it off and told him not to worry, that she was fine; she just had a lot on her mind that she had to work through herself. Which was true, in a sense. She didn't understand what she was feeling, really, or how long this phase would last. She wondered if she would stay this way forever; now that Ramsay had touched her life, maybe she was under some kind of irreversible spell that only he could cure. Except, he didn't seem to want to, at least that is what Lucy had convinced herself, until one day in mid-October, things changed.

> **Ramsay:** I was thinking of doing something fun this Saturday afternoon, and I'd like you to join me
> 
> **Ramsay:** Only if you want to, of course
> 
> **Lucy:** I'm game :)
> 
> **Ramsay:** Awesome. Come to the park that is closest to your campus. And, wear something that you don't mind getting dirty ;)

Lucy shared her plans with Sansa, and, since she knew she would be seeing Ramsay again for sure, she finally let her cousin in on some of the details from the night at the cafe. Although Sansa was happy to once again be in the know, she did bring up a valid point.

"Luce...you know this weekend is Homecoming Weekend...and Saturday evening is the big game, along with huge parties afterwards. You know Jaime is going to want to be with you."

Lucy sighed. "Fuck. I didn't even think about that. Well, maybe whatever Ramsay and I are doing, we will be done before the game starts." She sounded doubtful.

Putting her head in her hands, she asked anxiously, "Sansa, what am I going to do??"

Sansa rested her chin in her hand while sitting at her desk, abandoning the studying she was currently in the middle of. 

"Maybe you should just tell him. He is going to figure it out somehow, eventually," she suggested.

"But there's nothing even going on between Ramsay and I!" Lucy protested.

"If it is nothing, then why aren't you being honest with him? With anyone?" Sansa countered.

Lucy wasn't used to Sansa being the logical one, but she had to admit that what she had said made sense. 

"I-I don't know," she began quietly. "I guess it is because I really don't _know_ what is going on, or how I even feel. And Robb and Jon, well, you know how they would react."

"Hey," Sansa said gently. "I'm all for whatever you decide to do, Lucy. You're my cousin and best friend, and I will support whatever decision you make. You do what you feel is necessary, what you feel is right, and I'll do whatever I can to help you."

Lucy smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Sansa."

* * *

 Saturday eventually came, and Lucy ended up telling Jaime that she was not feeling well and would be staying home in bed for the festivities. Sansa promised to cover for her if anything came up.

Lucy decided to walk to the park where she was to meet Ramsay. It was only a few blocks away from the apartments, and she didn't want to risk anybody seeing Sansa's car where it shouldn't be, although almost everyone would be distracted anyways. It was a very chilly day, and Lucy shivered into her beat-up high school hoodie as she walked, thankful that she decided to wear her leather boots with the faux fur inside. 

It wasn't hard to find Ramsay at the park. She spotted him sitting at one of the picnic tables, newspapers spread out with two large pumpkins sitting on top. As soon as she got close enough to Ramsay and his work station, she laughed.

"Are you fucking serious right now? Carving pumpkins??" Ramsay nodded at her, smiling excitedly.

"I haven't carved a pumpkin since I was like, fourteen," Lucy said in disbelief.

"Neither have I," Ramsay admitted. "That's why I thought it would be fun to do."

Lucy snorted, shaking her head and sitting down next to him. "You're silly, you know that?"

Ramsay's sky blue eyes sparkled. "I haven't heard anybody call me that in a very long time."

Lucy paused, shooting him a genuine smile. 

"Well, if we are really going to do this, let's get started then," she said matter-of-factly.

Ramsay pulled out an array of knives he had hidden in a satchel that sat beside him on the bench. He studied them carefully, then chose a particularly large, sharp one and passed it over to Lucy.

"Please be careful," he said. "I don't fancy having to rush you to the ER tonight."

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him and kicked him in the shin. "I think I can handle carving a pumpkin," she shot him a playful glare.

Ramsay smirked. "Alright, then. Let's see what you can come up with."

Lucy plunged the tip of the knife into the top of the pumpkin, a few inches out from its' stem. She began to cut a circle out of the top. It was slow, muscle-exhausting work. Ramsay smiled over at her as she had her face squinted cutely with effort and concentration. After watching her for a little bit longer, he got to work on his own pumpkin. 

The best part was obviously scooping out the pulp and seeds. Lucy thought that it felt so satisfying scooping into the gooey mess with her bare hands, and hearing it land on the surrounding newspaper with a loud, wet 'plop' sound. Lucy looked over to see Ramsay elbow deep into his own pumpkin and giggled.

"This is so therapeutic," she closed her eyes and sighed with a goofy grin. Ramsay snorted at her silliness but didn't say anything.

Once her pumpkin was scraped clean inside, she began to try to carve a face, but was having difficulty maneuvering the large knife. Ramsay noticed her struggling.

"Here," he said, and grabbed a much smaller knife in the shape of a scalpel.

"Thanks," Lucy said as she exchanged the big knife for the little one. "You definitely came prepared; I like that," she shot him an admiring smirk.

"Ah well, considering the line of work my father is in, this is kind of the norm for me," Ramsay chuckled as he twirled his own small knife in his hand expertly, showing off just a little.

"I see," said Lucy, watching him curiously for a while. She wasn't sure what exactly he was carving, but it definitely didn't look like a face. After a while, she returned to continuing to carve her own.

Ramsay finished his pumpkin first, and he scooted so close to her that their thighs and arms were touching. His right hand rested on the bench on Lucy's other side, his arm casually crossed around her back as he propped himself up to watch her finish. Lucy's heart began to race once again, and she paused before regaining her focus to finish carving her jack-o-lantern's toothy grin. She felt his breath on the side of her face; he was so close to her that she could smell him; he smelt of tobacco and a warm, woodsy-type of scent that was intoxicating but also made her feel cozy and safe as a result.

When she was all done, Lucy tilted her head slightly in an attempt to critique her own work. 

"Well...he-he could be worse," Lucy said while stifling her own laughter. Her jack-o-lantern didn't look terrible, but there were definitely some jagged edges here and there instead of the nice, clean lines she was going for.

"Aw come on now," Ramsay consoled, leaning back away from her so he could look at her properly. "I think he's got great character."

"Hmmm...you think so?" Lucy asked with a slightly puzzled expression.

"Hell yeah! He looks scrappy as fuck," Ramsay commented.

Lucy burst out laughing. "What, like he's going to get into fights with other pumpkins?"

"You never know," Ramsay said seriously.

Lucy continued to laugh, and, without thinking, grabbed a handful of pulp and threw it at Ramsay. His eyes widened in surprise as orange goop and seeds dripped from his flannel jacket.

"You little shit!" he exclaimed with laughter. He quickly leaned over to grab at her, but Lucy shrieked playfully and ran from the table. Ramsay swiftly leaped off of the bench and chased after her.

Lucy was fast, but Ramsay was faster. When she glanced over her shoulder and saw him gaining on her, she screamed out in gleeful terror. Thinking fast, Lucy dove into a nearby leaf pile and Ramsay came crashing down on top of her. Lucy yelled again, feeling his weight on top of her, and threw leaves in his face in an attempt to defend herself. Ramsay roared with laughter, allowing himself to roll off of her so that he lay beside her, the leaves crunching and enveloping them in a red and orange, sweet-smelling fort. The two let their laughter die out and laid there, catching their breaths. Finally, Ramsay broke the silence.

"I haven't had this much fun in such a long time."

Lucy looked over at his face, remaining silent. She boldly linked her arm through his. He did not reject her gesture.

"With my father...and even Myranda...I feel pressured to behave a certain way, uphold certain standards. Well...maybe not even that. Maybe I'm just bogged down from living the same life, day in and day out. But with you, Luce, I feel different. I feel like I can forget myself for a while and just...let loose. Be silly. Have fun. Your genuine sweetness, your young innocence...it's a breath of fresh air. I like being a part of your world...or is it you being a part of mine? I'm not sure...."

He trailed off into silence. Lucy stayed quiet, not entirely sure what to say. So maybe she did have something to offer him after all. Maybe...maybe him liking her...wanting to be with her...wasn't as far fetched as she originally thought. However, there was still Myranda. She couldn't ignore that fact. And so, she forced herself to ask, even thought she really didn't want to--

"Couln't...can't you do this kind of thing with Myranda, though?"

Ramsay's eyes looked into hers, clouding over with what looked like a hint of confusion and sadness.

"I don't know. Maybe. I could try," he didn't sound convinced. Lucy's heart sank just a little.

And so did the sun. The sky had quickly darkened, and was now a gray, dusky pink. The air had grown colder, and Lucy shivered involuntarily. Ramsay nudged her gently.

"Hey. You're cold. And, I should get you home. I don't want to keep you away from Jaime too long, or he'll start to wonder," he chuckled, winking at her with a teasing smirk.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that," Lucy replied without much enthusiasm.

Ramsay and Lucy both pulled themselves up out of the leaf pile, brushing themselves off as much as possible. Some of the pulp still remained on Ramsay's jacket. He looked down at it and smiled. They walked back to their picnic table, their arms still loosely linked, pushing each other playfully with their shoulders, causing Lucy to erupt with giggles. As the two worked to clean up their mess, Lucy looked over at Ramsay's pumpkin.

He had carved an X.


	7. A Party and an Affair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While at a Halloween party, Lucy makes a rash decision that affects everyone and changes the game completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby let the games begin  
> Let the games begin  
> Let the games begin  
> Are you ready for it?

"Hey--where did this pumpkin come from?" Robb called out to the apartment at large mid-afternoon the Monday after Homecoming weekend. Lucy, who was currently in the kitchen area chopping up tomatoes for that evening's dinner, tensed up momentarily at Robb's question.

"I was wondering that myself, I don't know how it got there. Maybe our RA left it there to get us all into the Halloween spirit," Lucy lied through her teeth. She was relieved that her back was to her brother so he couldn't call her out on it.

"Hm, none of the other apartments have one, though," Robb observed with a puzzled expression.

"Well, I don't know then," Lucy sighed impatiently. "Hey--why don't we have a Halloween party next weekend here at the apartment? You can invite Talisa, Jon can bring Ygritte, Sansa can try to get Joffrey to come, and I'll...let Jaime know, too." The suggestion slipped out as an attempt to change the subject, but Lucy rather liked the idea. She felt a slight twinge of guilt when she realized she would rather invite Ramsay than Jaime. She tried to push that thought to the back of her mind, however.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Robb shrugged nonchalantly. 

"Did someone say party?" Jon emerged from the hallway that led back to his and Robb's bedroom.

"Hell yeah, man. Next weekend, for Halloween," Robb answered with a grin. 

"Alright, that's settled then," Lucy affirmed.

"Where's Sansa at?" Robb asked, plopping himself down on the couch and turning on the tv.

"Who knows," Lucy said as she tipped the tomato slices into a large salad bowl and then began to rummage around in the fridge. "Probably with Joffrey, I would expect."

Jon sat down on a stool at the island that separated the kitchen from the living area. "What do you guys think about this Joffrey dude?" he asked with some suspicion in his voice.

Lucy pulled a head of lettuce out of the fridge and turned to face her brothers. "I don't know, I don't know the guy very well. Sansa seems happy, so it's not really our place to judge, is it?"

"I don't know," Robb began, siding with Jon. "He seems a little sketchy to me."

"Yeah, he really seems like he could be a sneaky little bastard with shit up his sleeves," Jon chortled.

Lucy breathed out of her nose angrily, slamming the lettuce down on the island, halting her attempt at peeling it. "What the fuck is wrong with you two?? You guys have never even spoken to the guy, so what gives you the right to say anything against him? If Sansa's happy, what does it even matter? Can't you just leave shit alone for once?"

And, with that, Lucy abandoned the salad she was preparing and stormed off to her room, slamming the door as she went. Robb and Jon stared at one another in shock.

"What...?" Jon began.

"The hell was that?" Robb finished Jon's thought for him.

* * *

 

> **Lucy:** Hey. We're having a Halloween party at my apartment this weekend. You should crash ;)
> 
> **Ramsay:** Damn. I wish I could baby but I might have plans this weekend :(
> 
> **Ramsay:** I want to see your costume though ;) :P

Lucy lay curled up in a ball on her bed, anger coursing through her. She knew secretly inviting Ramsay to the party would stir shit up, but she didn't care at this point. She was tired of tiptoeing around Robb and Jon in an attempt to avoid their scorn. Not that it really mattered. Ramsay couldn't come anyways, and any hope of the two of them being together was a pipe dream as far as she was concerned.

True, Ramsay was now texting her every day and had made a habit of calling her babe, but Lucy did not put too much stock into it and refused to believe it was anything but innocent friendship. Or, maybe, she just didn't want to get her hopes up. She wasn't sure what she was feeling anymore. Before she knew it, angry, frustrated tears were running down her cheeks that she was too emotionally exhausted to try to stem.

* * *

"Lucy?"

Lucy lifted her head groggily and squinted at the bright light. 

"Huh?" she mumbled.

"What are you doing? Are you okay?" came Sansa's voice again.

Lucy pushed herself into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes. 

"Yeah...I must have fallen asleep. What time is it?" she wondered.

"8:30," Sansa said as she hung up her jacket.

"Shit," Lucy groaned. Sansa sat down on her bed and stared at Lucy.

"What the hell is going on? This isn't like you," she said bluntly.

"I got into a fight with Robb and Jon," Lucy admitted while stretching.

"Oh..." Sansa trailed off.

"And then I got frustrated and ended up crying myself to sleep, I guess," Lucy assumed.

"Some fight?" Sansa questioned.

"Eh. Not really. I just got angry at them because they were trying to talk shit about Joffrey. And I'm sick of them sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong. I'm tired of hiding from them. From everyone," Lucy ranted.

"Well, what are you going to do, then?" Sansa asked.

"I don't know yet, Sansa," Lucy said, slightly irritated.

"Hey girl, don't get pissy with me, I'm trying to help," Sansa said defensively.

"I know, it wasn't directed at you...just the whole situation. I'm sorry," Lucy apologized.

"I know. It's cool," Sansa consoled.

"Well, there's one good thing that came out of this afternoon," Lucy suggested.

"Oh? What's that?" Sansa asked eagerly.

"We're throwing a Halloween party next Saturday. You should invite Joffrey," Lucy told her.

"Aw, sweet! I definitely will!" Sansa said excitedly. Then--

"What about Ramsay?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"What about him?" Lucy asked.

"Are you going to invite him?" Sansa pressed.

"I did. He said he couldn't come," Lucy said glumly.

"Damn, that sucks," Sansa sympathized. "So, when are you going to tell Jaime?"

"Tell him what? About the party?" Lucy asked.

Sansa rolled her eyes. "No, dummy...about Ramsay,"

"Ugh, I really don't know. Soon. I guess. Maybe at the party," Lucy pondered.

"Well, you should do it sooner rather than later because it will only get worse if you wait," Sansa said firmly but gently.

Lucy nodded silently in agreement.

* * *

They looked like a fucking band of misfits.

At least, that's what Lucy thought as she stared around at everyone in their costumes at the party Saturday night. 

Lucy knew that she had been the one to suggest the party, and she had been excited about it at the time, but now, in the thick of things, she felt bored and annoyed and that the whole thing was actually rather juvenile. She knew a lot of these feelings came from wanting to be with Ramsay instead, but there was nothing she could do to fix that problem, so she spent her time drinking cup after cup of beer and avoiding almost everyone. She couldn't help being proud of her costume, though--she was dressed in steampunk attire with a short, ruffly skirt, a top hat with goggles, stockings and boots. But, since the right person wasn't there to see her in all of her splendor, it didn't really matter anyways.

Everyone had shown up, however, and seemed to be truly enjoying themselves, so she was at least happy that she was able to throw something together for everybody else to enjoy. She just didn't want to be there, at all, and the only person who noticed her plight was Jaime. Lucy knew she needed to have a serious talk with him, but she didn't have enough alcohol in her yet to handle it. So, she stood alone at the island, pounding the drinks into her until she began to feel very tipsy. She noticed Jaime sitting alone on the couch--well, not quite alone; Sansa and Joffrey were taking up a cushion by themselves though they were too preoccupied with other activities to pay attention to him--and felt bad, so she made her way over and sat next to him.

"Hey," Jaime said, turning to face her and smiling warmly.

"Hey," Lucy answered, not quite meeting his eyes. There was a beat of silence as Jaime wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Lucy took a deep, steadying breath, readying herself to tell him everything, when her phone buzzed in her lap.

> **Ramsay:** Hey. Come outside.

Lucy stared at her phone, her heart racing, bewildered by his message. Without so much as a backward glance or a word to anybody, Lucy put her phone down on the arm of the couch and slowly walked outside.

There, leaning against his black Dodge Challenger with tinted windows, was Ramsay, staring down at his phone with a slight smirk on his face.

Lucy almost choked on her own excitement as she practically skipped to where he stood.

"What are you doing here?" she asked breathlessly. "I thought you had plans!"

"I do," the smirk still decorating his face. "But, I told you I wanted to see your costume, didn't I? And I knew a picture wouldn't do you any justice." He bit his lip tantalizingly as he took in her edgy but sexy appearance, making no attempt to hide the fact that he was blatantly checking her out. Ramsay held out his hand and Lucy took it, allowing him to pull her in closer to his body. Lucy's heart fluttered and she felt a heat that spread through her whole body--she had never felt anything like it before.

"You look ravishing, my dear," Ramsay leaned in and said huskily into her ear.

Without thinking or knowing what the hell she was doing or getting herself into, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately. He tasted like cigarettes and she was intoxicated--not just from the alcohol but from his body up against hers. 

Ramsay kissed her tenderly back, breathing deeply and lowering his hands to grab her ass, grinding her hips up against his, growling lustfully and kissing her harder. A low, savory sound escaped Lucy's lips as her mouth continued to move against his, her tongue tentatively entering his mouth. Ramsay's tongue eagerly intertwined with hers, and they moved in a steady rhythm as they desperately pressed themselves up against one another, grabbing at each other with volatile energy. They went at it like this for a short while until finally they slowly broke apart, staring at one another with newfound desire. Lucy's face was as red as the leaves on the autumn-laden trees, her heart still thundering like one hundred wild horses.

"So," Ramsay cleared his throat, a giddy, triumphant smile on his face, "do you want to go to a real party?" and before she knew it, Lucy was in the passenger seat of his car, fastening her seat belt. 

"But, what about your plans?" she asked.

"These _are_ my plans," Ramsay chuckled, revving the engine and speeding out of the parking lot, leaving the University Park apartments behind.

* * *

Ramsay and his father lived in a gorgeous, white modern mansion on the outskirts of the city. Lights were ablaze in all of the windows, and there was loud music thumping from within. Ramsay took Lucy's hand in his as they walked up the long, sweeping drive towards the house. 

"Who--who's all here?" Lucy asked nervously.

"Nobody you need to worry about," Ramsay began with his usual smirk. "Mostly my father's business friends. I was getting bored with it all so I decided to kidnap you and bring you back here with me." His blue eyes twinkled with mischief.

As Ramsay lead her through the large foyer and hallway, Lucy glimpsed many men - and some women - partying and enjoying themselves in all types of Halloween getup. A paid DJ blasted music in the center of it all, and Lucy gasped as she noticed Roose and Tywin drunkenly doing the Macarena, Roose dressed as a lobster and Tywin a drag queen. Ramsay kept leading Lucy onward, so she didn't get to stare too long at the spectacle, but she was almost positive Tywin's dilated eyes met hers for a split second as she walked away.

They exited through large glass doors at the rear of the house and found themselves in the presence of an insanely large swimming pool with a lavish hot tub off to one side.

"Fancy a dip?" Ramsay nodded in the direction of the hot tub.

"Yes, but...I don't have a swim suit," Lucy said shyly, her face heating up.

"Of course not," Ramsay answered. "But, I do."

Confused, Lucy allowed Ramsay to continue to lead her around the pool and hot tub to a smaller building that was not attached to the rest of the main house; upon approaching closer she realized that it was, in fact, a pool house. Once inside, Ramsay moved over to one of just a few closets and pulled out a pair of swimming trunks and a bikini. Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. 

"One of Myranda's old ones," Ramsay explained, noticing the look on Lucy's face. He tossed the top and bottom pieces to her. Lucy caught them adeptly, but still stood rooted to the spot. Ramsay chuckled.

"Don't worry, they're clean," he assured.

With a flirtatious smile and a backward glance, Lucy entered one of the bathrooms to change. A few minutes later she emerged, tugging at and adjust the suit self-consciously. Ramsay stared at her, already in his trunks.

"It's-it's a little small," Lucy pointed out the obvious, her cheeks reddening again.

Lucy was by no means a large girl, but Myranda's frame was so tiny that Lucy's ass cheeks were more than slightly exposed and her modest-sized breasts were practically bursting from the small cups of the bikini top. Ramsay tried his best to hide his arousal.

"You look fine," he purred, moving over to her and gently putting his hand on the small of her back while kissing her cheek tenderly. Lucy felt her heart begin to race once again.

Ramsay led her back outside to the hot tub.

"Get in," he instructed. "I'll be right back."

Lucy closed her eyes as Ramsay leaned in slowly and kissed her lips softly. Then, he walked away. Lucy took a deep breath and shakily made her way over to the hot tub.

 _This is a dream_ , she thought. _It has to be_.

Lucy climbed into the tub, the warmth of the water washing over her as she sank down into it, sitting against the side and kicking her legs slowly. She let out a heavenly sigh and closed her eyes. She could get used to this. Ramsay returned shortly after, carrying two tequila sunrises with him. He handed one down to Lucy and then lowered himself into the hot tub next to her, sitting his glass on the edge. Lucy drank hers with nervous haste, enjoying the tropical orange flavor and almost forgetting that it was filled with liquor.

"Hey, slow down," Ramsay jokingly chided, leaning close to her and staring lustfully into her eyes. Drunk by his mere presence, Lucy didn't need telling twice; she set her glass down on the edge like Ramsay's, and before she knew it, she was kissing him again, slow at first but with increasing vigor. Breathing heavily, Lucy shifted her body so that she was straddling Ramsay's, kissing him hungrily as his hands grabbed her thighs, her waist, her ass, the small of her back. Ramsay stifled a groan as he felt himself growing hard at the sight of her exposed body and the feeling of her lips hungrily kissing his. All of Lucy's worries subsided until one thought remained: she wanted him. She wanted all of him. And she couldn't hold her feelings back any longer.

Eventually, reluctantly, the two stopped, gripping each other tightly and panting hard, sweating slightly from the heat of the water and the heat of the adrenaline coursing through their veins. 

"Ramsay, I--" Lucy began, then stopped. "Shit! I left my phone at the apartment. The others are going to be so worried..." she trailed off apprehensively.

"Shhhh," Ramsay comforted her, caressing her face. "It's okay. You're an adult; they'll understand that. Besides," he said, wrapping his wet, strong arms around her tightly. "I've got you now; you don't need to worry about a thing," he said reassuringly, a possessive gleam in his eyes.

Lucy submit herself to his embrace, to his calm voice; she didn't want to think about anything else. 

* * *

It was midnight.

"Shit! Where the fuck is she?!" Robb raged, pacing back and forth across the apartment as everyone else sat in silence, staring at him apprehensively. Sansa chewed her lip in an agitated fashion, her eyes darting nervously around the room.

"Ay, calm the fuck down, alright?" Joffrey shouted out. "She probably ran off with some guy and--"

"Hey dude. She's my girlfriend," Jaime interjected, staring Joffrey down. Joffrey snorted sardonically.

"So? This is college, man. Shit happens. People cheat. Like I said, she probably hopped into some dude's Jag and cruised off into the sunset," he said with a knowing grin. Sansa gasped, her eyes wide, and Robb stopped in his tracks, turning slowly on the spot.

He strode towards Joffrey.

"Shut the fuck up about my sister, alright you little prick?" Robb threatened.

"Robb!" Sansa shouted angrily. Robb rounded on her, stumbling slightly; they were all drunk.

"You," Robb hissed, shooting Sansa an accusing glare. "You know where she is, don't you?"

"I--" Sansa began.

"Don't lie to me!" Robb spat.

"Babe, please, calm down," Sansa heard Talisa say as she closed her eyes briefly, thinking hard.

 _Should I tell them what I know?_ she thought.  _What do I do??_

Before Sansa opened her mouth to answer, Lucy's phone vibrated loudly from the arm of the couch where she had put it hours earlier. Robb darted over and grabbed it hastily.

> **Ramsay:** She's with me. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her ;)

Robb tossed the phone at Sansa, who caught it bewilderingly. 

"You know _something_ ," he hissed.

The room was deadly quiet, all eyes on Sansa. Her face flushed angrily as she stood up to face Robb.

"I don't," Sansa lied, her eyes boring into his. "And even if I did, what does it matter? What business is it of yours?"

"What does it matter?!" Robb shouted, waving his arms wildly. 

As the two continued to argue heatedly, Jon stood up silently, taking Ygritte's hand, and left the apartment, Talisa scurrying out behind them. 

"Fucking nuts," Joffrey mumbled, and he, too, walked out.

Jaime sat there, staring miserably at the floor, allowing Sansa and Robb to scream themselves hoarse. After what seemed like forever, the argument subsided, and they noticed that Jaime was the only one who remained sitting.

"I'm...going to stay here and wait for her. She has to come back at some point," he said quietly.

"Of course, man," Robb said, his voice cracking. "Make yourself at home."

Sansa glared at each of them, as if that evening's conundrum was their fault. She huffed angrily and stalked off to her and Lucy's bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Robb sighed, blinking blearily, and allowed himself to pass out on the couch next to Jaime.

* * *

Bright, red light burned like fire through Lucy's eyelids, and she felt her head begin to pound. She sat up and tried to swallow, but her mouth was so dry that she couldn't. Slowly, she opened her eyes, expecting to find herself in her bedroom at the apartment.

She wasn't.

As she took in her surroundings, she quickly realized where she was, and bits and pieces from the night before eventually came back to her. 

"Oh, fuck," she mumbled, her worst fears confirmed as she saw Ramsay lying in the huge, fluffy, king-sized bed next to her, the sun shining through the sliding doors that led out to a balcony adjacent to his massive bedroom.

Ramsay made and incoherent noise beside her as Lucy continued to sit there, her knees pulled up to her chest, absolutely dumbfounded. She found herself dressed in a large plaid button-down shirt with Myranda's bikini on underneath. The shirt must have belonged to Ramsay.

He continued to stir beside her, until he slowly rolled over to face her, opening his eyes and smiling up at her.

"What--what happened?" Lucy croaked. "Did I...? Did we...?" She stared at Ramsay's bare torso as he sat up next to her. He chuckled.

"No. We almost did, but then you let slip that you're a virgin, so...that stopped us--me--from going further," Ramsay explained calmly, looking at Lucy's face.

"Oh God..." Lucy breathed, absolutely mortified. "What--what else did I blurt out?" she said, turning her face away from his, embarrassed. Ramsay rubbed her shoulder lightly.

"Nothing you need to worry about," he assured with a smirk. "You just got slightly inebriated. That's all."

Lucy groaned, putting her head in her hands.

Ramsay got out of bed and stretched, wearing just a pair of boxers. Lucy stared, noticing the strip of dark hair that trailed from his belly button down to beneath his boxers. Her heart fluttered and she had the sudden desire to start kissing him again.

"We uh, should probably get you home though," Ramsay said sheepishly.

"Oh no. I left my phone at the apartment..." she told Ramsay again.

"Don't worry," Ramsay said as Lucy stood up dizzily. "I texted it. They should know where you are."

 _Fuck!_ Lucy thought desperately to herself. _Well...at least maybe this will make things easier to explain._

The ride home was silent and awkward. Lucy's thoughts were jumbled and confused, and she felt awful. Her head hurt. She was dizzy and nauseous. And she was parched. She was feeling hungover for the very first time as she covered her eyes with one of her hands to try to block out some of the bright light.

All too soon, they were parked outside of the apartment. Lucy took a deep breath.

"Th-thanks for the ride home," she stuttered awkwardly as she began to get out of Ramsay's car.

"Yeah," Ramsay cleared his throat uncomfortably, looking away. "I'll talk to you later."

Lucy watched Ramsay drive away, her heart aching. She sighed, then unlocked the apartment door to face the inevitable.


	8. Loveless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy's secret is out, and the atmosphere at the apartment is turbulent. Ramsay makes a decision that could prove to be more dangerous than he had ever imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a birthday gift for Decent_Arrow78; thank you, always, for inspiring me and pushing me to be my best. <3
> 
> Bet you wanna rip my heart out  
> Bet you wanna skip my calls now  
> Well guess what? I like that  
> Cause I'm gonna mess your life up  
> Gonna wanna tape my mouth shut

Robb and Jaime were asleep on the couch, a tangle of arms and legs. Lucy tried to shut the door quietly in order to sneak past them, but the latch clicking was like a sudden alarm.

"Where the fuck have you been? And _what_ are you wearing??" Robb spat, sounding groggy and angry. 

Jaime stirred; blinking his eyes a few times, he sat up into a proper position.

"Lucy," he breathed, sounding relieved.

Lucy did not meet his eyes. She tried to ignore the both of them and began to walk past them across the living room.

Robb hopped up off the couch, stumbling slightly.

"No. You can't just walk away from this. We have been worried sick since you disappeared last night. What the hell is going on?" 

"Well you didn't need to worry about me. I'm fine," Lucy mumbled defiantly, still trying to inch off to her bedroom.

Robb opened his mouth furiously, ready to fire back, but Jaime stood up, shooting Robb a look that cut him off.

"I better get going," he said calmly. He walked over to Lucy, who still gave off the impression that she wanted to sink into the wall behind her. 

Putting a hand on her shoulder, he said, "I just wanted to make sure you got home safely."

"Oh...uh, thanks," Lucy mumbled awkwardly, still avoiding his eyes. 

"I'll text you later," he said, briefly kissing Lucy on the top of her head, then left without a word.

This left an awkward silence between the two siblings. 

Lucy tried, once again, to make her exit.

"Lucy," Robb began. He had stopped shouting, but there was still an edge to his voice. "Tell me what's going on."

Lucy sighed, her shoulders slumped. She reluctantly turned around to face her brother. 

"I was with Ramsay Bolton," she said begrudgingly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What?" Robb said in disbelief. 

"You heard me," Lucy said irritably. "And I'm sorry I didn't have my phone on me. That was an accident. I wasn't expecting to actually leave."

Robb sighed, closing his eyes. 

"And here I thought Sansa would be the one to worry about," he muttered to himself. "Look," he continued. "I'm too hungover to talk about this right now, be we are not done here. Got it?" he said firmly.

"Yeah. Whatever," Lucy answered disparagingly as she finally went off to her bedroom for some peace and quiet, and time to think.

* * *

Everyone slept until late afternoon. Lucy woke up, but didn't want to leave her bed. Not yet. Leaving her bed meant moving forward from the night before, and she wished time would have stopped while she and Ramsay had been together in that hot tub. And, she wasn't ready to face Robb and his accusations. Lucy wished she could close her eyes and drift off again, but she knew she couldn't. She didn't think her body could possibly benefit from any more additional rest.

Lucy wondered if Sansa was still asleep. She sat up slowly. 

Sansa was still lying down, but her eyes were open and she was looking at her cell phone. She noticed Lucy's movement out of the corner of her eye. She put her phone back under her pillow.

"Hey," Sansa said warmly, a smile on her face.

"Morning," Lucy replied, unaware of what time it actually was.

"Uh, Luce? It's 3:00 o'clock," Sansa said, her smile twisting in amusement. 

"Shit, really?" Lucy asked, resting her forehead in the palm of her hand.

"Yes," Sansa said, now sitting up as well. 

"So, what happened last night? Robb was throwing a fit," Sansa asked, amusement still present in her voice.

"Yeah, I know," Lucy sighed, looking over at her cousin.

"You talked to him already?" Sansa asked, surprised.

"Yes and no. All he knows is that I was with Ramsay all night," Lucy confessed.

Sansa smirked. "I figured. So what happened?" she asked again.

Lucy mulled it all over, wondering what she should say and how much she should reveal. She wondered if Robb was awake yet, and if he was, he was probably growing impatient waiting for the details. Lucy knew she couldn't put off talking to Robb any longer. Plus, she hated being in a fight with anybody in her family; the discord made her feel miserable.

"Come on," Lucy said to Sansa, getting out of bed and standing up. She walked by her cousin's bed and out of the room. Bewildered, Sansa followed her.

Lucy was relieved to find Robb making himself coffee in the kitchen. He still looked worse for wear. Robb glanced up when he noticed Lucy walk by him, Sansa at her heels.

"Finally," he grumbled impatiently, taking his mug and sitting next to Sansa on the couch, while Lucy sat across from them on the love seat. 

"I owe you guys an explanation of what happened last night. I'm really sorry to have worried you, and I didn't mean to," Lucy admitted, looking at her brother and cousin. They both stared at her in silence, waiting for her to continue.

Just as she was about to begin speaking, the apartment door opened and Jon walked in, bringing a gust of cold air in with him. All heads turned to look at him.

"Hey, guys," he said sheepishly. "And oh hey, Luce, you're back!" He nodded in her direction with a smile.

Robb looked at Jon incredulously. "'Oh hey, you're back'? That's all you have to say? Weren't you worried at all?"

Jon looked a little taken aback as he sat next to Lucy on the love seat.

"I mean yeah," he began. "I was a little worried. But Robb, she's an adult now. She can take care of herself."

"Dad told us to look after her and Sansa!" Robb exclaimed.

"Yes, he did," Jon began slowly. "But I don't think he meant for us to parent them in his and Mom's absence."

Robb seethed. "She was with Ramsay fucking Bolton, Jon."

Now it was Jon's turn to look shocked and concerned. Before he could open his mouth though, Lucy stepped in.

"Okay, do you guys want to explain to me  _why_ it's so bad for me to see him?"

Robb closed his eyes, exasperated. "Not until you tell  _us_ what the hell is going on!"

"Fine!" Lucy snapped, glowering in Robb's direction. She took a deep breath.

"Ramsay knew we were having a Halloween party and wanted to see my costume," Lucy explained. "He texted me when he got here last night. I went outside to see him, leaving my phone in here because I thought I would be coming right back in. But, he invited me to a party at his house. And, well, I got really excited and kind of forgot about everything else, including my phone."

"That doesn't explain why you came home in a completely different outfit than what you left in...if you could even call that an outfit," Robb snorted sardonically.

Lucy's face reddened considerably. 

"Well, there was a hot tub. Ramsay gave me a spare bathing suit of Myranda's to wear so we could get in. And I guess I fell asleep."

"Was Myranda at the party too?" Robb asked, though he was sure he knew the answer already.

"No," Lucy answered shortly.

"And what do you mean, you 'guess' you fell asleep?" Robb grimaced.

"Well...there was alcohol. I don't remember much after we got in the hot tub," Lucy admitted sheepishly.

"Jesus, Lucy!" Robb protested. "How the hell do you know he didn't fucking rape you while you were too drunk to know what the hell was going on?"

"We didn't do anything like that!" Lucy said hotly. "I asked Ramsay, and I believe him. And, he would _never_ rape me." Lucy glared furiously.

"I'm going to fucking kill him," said Jon in a surly voice.

"So Joffrey was right," Robb said, shaking his head and chuckling in disbelief.

This time, it was Sansa's turn to get angry.

"You leave him out of this! He was drunk; we all were!"

"Wait, what happened with Joffrey?" Lucy asked, confused.

"He--" Sansa began, but Robb cut her off.

"When we were worrying about what happened to you, dear _Joffrey_ so politely said that you probably ran off with some other guy, which not only hurt your _boyfriend's_ feelings, but also offended _me_ because I never thought you would stoop to such depths," he said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Clearly, I was wrong."

"Lucy," Sansa pleaded. "He was drunk when he said that -- he didn't mean it, I swear!"

"It's okay Sansa," Lucy said quietly. "I admit that I acted extremely irresponsibly last night, and I'm sorry."

Jon coughed loudly. He and Robb were sharing disgusted looks with one another.

"Hey girl, you don't need to apologize to me. I have no problem with what you did last night," Sansa said loftily, causing Robb's eyes to widen.

"Sorry, Sansa, but your opinion doesn't count," Robb said cruelly, causing Sansa to gasp and huff in anger. "This is between me and Jon and Lucy, which, by the way Luce, exactly how long has this shit been going on between you and that shady bastard?"

"That's none of your business," Lucy hissed. "And, once again, besides my irresponsibility last night, _why_ don't you guys like Ramsay? I told you everything you want to know, now it's your turn!"

"He used to go to school here; I assume you already know this?" Robb asked; Lucy nodded.

"Well, he apparently dropped out, but the rumor is, he was kicked out for being caught doing illegal activity. And Jon and I have also heard he has had stints in jail. Ramsay's father seems to be okay, but that doesn't change the fact that Ramsay is a bad seed," Robb said. 

Lucy laughed derisively.

"Rumors? That's all you have to give me? And that's supposed to scare me away from him? I don't care what either of you have heard, he has been nothing but kind to me."

Jon snorted.

"You are so naive, Lucy. If he is not shady as shit, why is he running around with you behind Myranda's back?"

"I told you; we didn't do anything like that!" Lucy lied.

Jon shook his head while staring at the ceiling; Robb looked as if he wanted to continue beating a dead horse. Lucy looked mutinous, not ready to give up her case any time soon.

"Look," Sansa intervened wearily. "Can we just let this go now? This fighting is getting us nowhere, and now that Lucy apologized and we know she's okay, I think we can all move forward now and forget this ever happened."

Nobody said anything. Jon, Robb, and Lucy continued to look angry.

"Where's my phone?" Lucy finally asked. Robb took it out of his pocket and tossed it to her.

"Thanks," Lucy grumbled, then got up to take a shower before anyone else could start talking again.

* * *

Lucy got out of the shower to find a text from Jaime asking her to meet him at his apartment in an hour. She dressed quickly; a large portion of that hour had already passed. Sansa was gone; she couldn't blame her for wanting to get out of the current poisonous atmosphere in the apartment and if truth be told, Lucy couldn't wait to leave either, even if it meant some awkward time spent with Jaime. Although she knew what she did the night of the party was wrong, Lucy refused to take the entire blame for all of the hostility that was going on between everyone right now. She got that her brothers didn't like Ramsay, and that was fine -- they didn't have to. But that didn't mean that they had the right to treat she and Sansa like little children. 

 _Maybe Mom and Dad_ did _ask Robb and Jon to look after Sansa and I_ , Lucy thought. _But I don't think they meant them to do it like this._

The malice, the shouting -- it wasn't like Robb, at all, and it deeply troubled Lucy. She could appreciate that Robb cared about her and didn't want to see her hurt. But, if he continued acting the way he currently was, he would eventually tear the family apart. Lucy hoped with all her heart that this phase of his would blow over soon and be forgotten about, like Sansa said earlier.

Lucy grabbed her small clutch handbag and her phone and dashed out of her room and through the living room towards the apartment door.

"Where are you going now?" Robb asked, still sitting on the couch, still bad-tempered.

Lucy had her hand on the doorknob, ready to open it and leave, but she took a deep breath, braced herself, and turned to face her brother yet again.

"Jaime texted me. He wants me to see him," she said shortly.

Robb snorted.

"Yeah right. Like he would want to see you after knowing you were with Ramsay Bolton all night," he said witheringly.

"I'm not lying, Robb. And Jaime doesn't know anything for sure about last night -- yet," Lucy said matter-of-factly.

"Well, I can't believe you have the gall to go see him, regardless," Robb countered.

"Well, it's _really_ none of your business, but I'll have you know that I'm going to _politely_ end things with him, which I was _going_ to do last night before things got out of control. Now I gotta go, I'm late," Lucy said huffily, then wrenched open the apartment door and slammed it behind her.

* * *

Lucy walked as quickly as she could across University Park to Jaime's apartment, but despite her efforts, Jaime was already standing outside of his apartment door waiting for her.

"Jaime, I'm so sorry I'm late," Lucy began apologetically, slightly out of breath. "Robb held me up."

Jaime gave her a small smile.

"It's okay, no worries."

Lucy took a step forward as if to enter his apartment like usual, but Jaime stopped her.

"Actually, can we go for a walk?" he asked.

"Oh, sure," Lucy said compliantly, slightly surprised by this turn of events.

 _Wanting to go for a walk with such a serious demeanor can't be good,_ Lucy thought as they started out, smiling ironically to herself.  _Not that it was going to be a good visit anyways._

The pair walked in a somewhat awkward silence for a few minutes before Lucy decided to break it.

"Jaime," she sighed sadly, "I'm so sorry about last night. What I did to you was wrong."

"It's okay," Jaime said quietly. "I already know."

Lucy's heart skipped a beat.

"Know what?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"That you were at Ramsay's last night," he answered.

Lucy frowned, bewildered.

"Did Robb or Jon tell you this?" she asked.

Jaime chuckled.

"No. You're forgetting that my father was there too."

Lucy's heart sank. She had indeed forgotten in all the chaos that ensued afterwards.

"My dad might've been drunk, but he definitely remembered seeing you. Imagine the jubilant, snide text I received from him later that night saying that you were currently arm-in-arm with the Bolton boy," Jaime confided with a pained smile.

Lucy felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. She knew hanging out with Ramsay behind Jaime's back was shady, but she never imagined these consequences.

 _Poor Jaime!_ she thought miserably. _Because of my selfishness, he was ridiculed by his father...again_.

"I'm so, so sorry," Lucy began despairingly. "I didn't--"

"It's okay. You don't need to explain yourself to me. I know you didn't do anything with Ramsay," Jaime said consolingly.

Lucy did not dare contradict him, but her insides squirmed guiltily. She wondered how Jaime knew Ramsay's name.

 _But then again,_ she mused,  _Ramsay did know Jaime's._

Jaime's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Even still, Lucy, I think we should stop seeing each other."

"Yeah...you're right, we should," Lucy agreed morosely. She was relieved...but also sad. She had truly liked Jaime. But, what she felt for Ramsay was so much more powerful and passionate that what she had with Jaime couldn't compare or compete.

"I've known something has been going on with you for a while. Now that I know you were with Ramsay, well, it's rather obvious how you feel for him," Jaime confessed.

Lucy felt her face heat up. 

"I'm sorry," she said for the third time, unable to say anything else.

Jaime had stopped walking, so Lucy did the same.

"Hey, I said it's cool. I understand. And I'm okay, I promise," he smiled wanly. 

It was just now that Lucy realized he had led her all the way back to her apartment door. It was his way of saying goodbye, Lucy realized.

Jaime touched her cheek softly.

"You're a good girl, Luce. I wish you both the best of luck and hope he treats you well."

Smiling one last time, Jaime turned around and began his trek back to his apartment. 

Lucy stood there and watched him walk away, a small tear tracing itself down her cheek, yet her heart was beating erratically with excitement. She was free. Free to pursue Ramsay as much as she pleased. She just wished she didn't have to hurt such a good person in the process.

* * *

Ramsay lay atop his bed, staring at the ceiling for hours, alone in his dumpy studio apartment. He did not move. Did not eat. All he could do was lay paralyzed, thinking hard and sorting through his feelings.

He wasn't himself. No, he hadn't been himself for days...weeks, maybe. Ever since Lucy Stark walked into his life, he was questioning his existence and every move. He had never felt like this before, and it was unnerving. What started out as innocent flirting at a party turned into a thirst he couldn't quench, no matter how hard he tried. He had thought maybe seeing her one more time would free her from his mind. But it wasn't enough. He wanted to see her, again...and again. When he was with her, he felt exhileratingly free; free of his father's demands and expectations, free of the poison that was Myranda, free of the mediocrity of his day-to-day life.

But, it was more than that.

He felt something  _for_ her too; to protect her, to hold her, to shade her innocence and shelter her from harm. Her smile was like a ray of sunshine, and he wanted to make sure it was always present; that  _he_ was the source of her joy.

And yet, Ramsay was not stupid; he knew himself, knew his desires, and knew his soul. Although he wanted to shield her innocence, he also wanted to corrupt her; to turn her into a sadistic but sugar sweet version of himself. He wanted to protect her from harm, yet he wanted to cause her great pain in the most pleasurable of ways.

He wanted to be her devil in paradise. 

And so he remained altruistically conflicted, an all-together new experience for him, as he had never cared about another person besides himself so much, and he wasn't sure he knew how to.

Even more troubling (or was it? He wasn't sure) was the fact that, between stints with Myranda, he had been with plenty of women before, many of which he had shamelessly taken advantage of. Yet, he had almost no problem putting his own urges aside last night once he saw how truly vulnerable she was.

Did that mean he loved her? He didn't know. Ramsay Bolton had never experienced love in his 24 years of existence, having been hardened at a young age from a father who made it plain that he did not want him.

However confused he was with everything else, one thing had become crystal clear to Ramsay: Lucy had made him realize that no matter where the future took him, he did not want Myranda to be a part of it anymore, no matter how much of twisted convenience she was.

And so, it was with this epiphany on his mind that, when Myranda barged into his apartment early that evening, he knew exactly what to do without much thought.

"Ramsay? What are you doing?" she asked, confused, as she spotted him still lying listlessly on his bed while the room grew dark around him.

He ignored her. 

"How was your dad's party last night?" she tried again, flicking on the light switch.

"I don't understand why you didn't want me to come, I mean, I've gone every other year," she babbled on mindlessly.

Ramsay felt his eye twitch in irritation. Slowly, he sat up.

Facing away from her, he quietly said, "Leave. Now."

"What? I mean, okay...I guess I'll come back later then," Myranda answered, dumbfounded.

Ramsay stood up, turning to look at her.

"No," he responded quite calmly. "I mean, get out of my life. Get out of my head. Get out of my sight. And don't darken my doorstep ever again."

Myranda stared him down, defiant.

"Why, Ramsay? Is it her? Is this about that Stark girl? You can't shut me out like this, as much as you want to. You always come crawling back," she sneered derisively. 

Ramsay closed his eyes and chuckled darkly. Before Myranda could move or react, he flicked open a switch blade from his back pocket and lunged for her throat, pinning her against the wall. Myranda whimpered and trembled, feeling the cold blade against her neck.

"Tell me what I can and can't do one more time, and I'll be doing more than just cutting you out of my life," he whispered dangerously, breathing in her ear.

He squeezed her throat domineeringly with his free hand, lowering the knife. He watched her struggle for air for a few seconds, then released her harshly, his eyes blazing and his jaw set.

Myranda moved to open the apartment door silently, the weight of Ramsay's threat on her shoulders. Before shutting it behind her, she turned to look at him, her insolent countenance restored.

"Terrorize me all you want, Ramsay Bolton," she said with vengeance. "But, I'll never truly be gone."

The resounding slam of the apartment door reverberated off the thin walls as Ramsay stared after her, her final words sinking into him like jagged claws clutching their prey.


End file.
